Minor leaguers make major statement
Fair ball. That is all minor leaguers want, to be treated and paid fairly. Mets and Phillies High-A minor-league players protested their insufficient wages on Saturday during their game in New York. Players from the Brooklyn Cyclones and Jersey Shore BlueClaws wore teal wristbands that said ‘#FairBall’ on Saturday. It was an unprecedented act of solidarity from players themselves.
Advocates for Minor Leaguers, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving working conditions for all players in farm systems, helped organize Saturday’s demonstration by hosting a Fan Appreciation
Day around the country. Volunteers coastto-coast distributed literature and solidarity wristbands demanding “#FairBall” for all minor league players.
“Minor League baseball players have been severely underpaid and silenced for decades,” minor-league players from both the Mets and Phillies said in a joint statement to Advocates for Minor Leaguers, obtained by the Daily News. “Today, we are wearing #FairBall wristbands to show our solidarity with every fan and ally who is working to change that. We love the game of baseball, but it needs to evolve. It is time for every Minor Leaguer to be paid a living wage.”
Due to Major League Baseball’s exemption from federal antitrust laws, big-league teams are legally permitted to collude on minor-league salaries, Advocates for Minor Leaguers continued in a statement. As a result, most players earn less than $15,000 per year. Many players also suffer from housing and food insecurity, and some have detailed significant mental health issues that they attribute in part to the oppressive conditions in the minors.
Mets minor leaguers heard loud and clear on Sunday that big-league manager Luis Rojas has their back.
“I think those guys standing for something that they believe, you’ve got to respect that,” Rojas said. “If there’s going to be an upgrade there, I’ll be one of the guys to say, ‘Yeah, that would be great.’ These are guys that are choosing baseball as their career, and immediately they want some impact when it comes down to their economic choice. I’ll be someone that will support that if they’re voicing it. Everyone has their right to show what they want, show the gesture.”
Rojas managed eams in the Mets farm system from 2011-18. He knows, however much he supports their cause, the decision to improve minor-league wages does not rest on his shoulders. But Rojas made it clear he respects the solidarity Mets minor leaguers showed on Saturday, and that support means a lot more than he maybe realizes.
“Yesterday’s collective action by Mets and Phillies Minor Leaguers was unprecedented and historic,” Harry Marino, executive director of Advocates for Minor Leaguers, told the News. “So too was today’s statement of support by Mets manager Luis Rojas. All workers, including Minor Leaguers, deserve a voice when it comes to their working conditions. We appreciate Rojas for publicly acknowledging that fact.”
MLB raised minor-league salaries this year, with full-season players earning between $12,000 and $16,800 in a year. The federal poverty level is $12,880 for individuals.
Minor-league players earn the baseball-wide minimum of $700 per week in Triple-A, $600 per week in Double-A, and $500 per week in Single-A. Much of those meager paychecks are eaten up by housing costs, a situation worsened by the pandemic. It was previously custom for minor-league players to stay with host families.
In July, the News learned of positive changes within the Mets organization. Players in High-A Brooklyn were said to be reimbursed for the $10/night hotel costs they had paid the team this season. At Triple-A Syracuse, players received $300 a month as a housing stipend. And players at extended spring training in Port St. Lucie received back pay for the months they trained for no pay.
DEGROM AT MID-SLOPE
Jacob deGrom (right elbow inflammation/sprain) is still working his way up to pitching fully off the mound. His bullpen sessions so far have been at mid-slope. The next step for him will be pitching off the rubber, and then eventually he’ll face batters.