MLB plan saves big- spending teams $ 100 million each
NEW YORK — The New York Yankees, Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers would each save more than $ 100 million on player salaries as part of management’s proposal to start the coronavirus- delayed season than they would under the union’s plan, according to an analysis by The Associated Press.
Top stars accustomed to eye- popping salaries that set them apart from mere All- Stars would experience by far the steepest cuts. Set to earn $ 36 million each, Mike Trout and Gerrit Cole would get $ 25.3 million under the union’s plan and a base of $ 5.6 million under the teams’ proposal, with the chance to get back to about $ 8 million if the postseason is played. A rookie at the minimum would get $ 396,537 from the union plan and $ 256,706 from the MLB proposal — not much more than the $ 222,222 per game Trout and Cole originally were slated to earn.
The Yankees project to pay $ 155 million to players under the union’s plan, according to the AP analysis based on frozen March 28 rosters, and spend $ 48 million on salary under management’s proposal. The Astros drop from $ 149 million to $ 46 million and the Dodgers from $ 147 million to $ 46 million.
Lower- spending teams save, too, but not nearly as much because their starting points are lower. Miami is at $ 33 million under the union’s plan and $ 16 million under MLB’s. Pittsburgh’s salaries would drop from $ 36 million to $ 17 million and Baltimore’s from $ 43 million to $ 18 million.
Players agreed on March 26 to accept prorated shares of their salaries during a shortened
close. … I really look forward to it, and I know it’s a very important part of his day.”
In that sense, Miller, 51, is more than a WNBA head coach and general manager ( a role he fills quite well with the Connecticut Sun). He’s a father, mentor and role model, an inspirer of change and a fierce advocate for the LGBTQ community. They’ve grown even closer through Seymour’s incarceration.
However, the past few months have been especially difficult on their relationship due to COVID- 19 and its ravaging effects on America’s prison system.
THE PAST IS THE PAST
Sometimes, Miller wonders, what if? What if Shawn Seymour, who fell victim to the nation’s opioid crisis as a teenager, hadn’t gotten in trouble with the law?
In 2014, Shawn Seymour, then 19, was arrested following a series of armed robberies in Indiana. Reports say that when confronted by officers, he ignored orders to drop his weapon and pointed a gun at them. Shots were fired, one grazing Shawn Seymour’s head.
“He got in trouble with the law before maybe it was a gateway to even more serious street drugs,” Miller said. “I look at it as a really tough consequence, but I almost look at it as a blessing that I truly believe that his prescription drug use was going to be a gateway to even more serious street drugs.
“Maybe he wouldn’t be with us at all. I almost look at it as a blessing that this happened to him early.”
Shawn Seymour spent two years in an extensive drug rehabilitation program. Ultimately, his sentence — which Miller chose not to discuss in detail — could get modified.
“Eventually, he will get his second chance,” Miller said. “He obviously looks forward to that, and so do I. The challenge will always be to fight the disease of addiction.”
CLOSE QUARTERS
Prisons, where social distancing is next to impossible, became hotspots for the coronavirus. Inmates everywhere have been rendered vulnerable.
Among those affected was the Indiana correctional facility where Shawn Seymour is incarcerated. Earlier this spring, an inmate a few cells down from Seymour died from what was thought to be complications from the virus, according to Miller. A 14day quarantine period was mandated. In- person visits were halted.
“It’s impossible to social distance in there,” Miller said. “They have a cell mate. It’s really hard to create that social distancing.”
Understandably, Miller’s anxiety as a parent has been heightened. He’s still hunkered down in Indiana with Brian, a recent college graduate, waiting, hoping for a return to normalcy.
“How fast and rapid it spreads, every time I hear of military issues because of the close quarters they’re in, my mind immediately races back to the criminal justice system and all the prisons and inmates out there,” Miller said. “The confinement is very, very similar.
“It’s a tough time to have someone incarcerated.”