Professional baseball players are often lumped together as guys who make millions of dollars to swing a bat and throw a ball, but one minor league player is here to remind us that the climb to the top is anything but glamorous.
Brandon Lawson, a Single-A pitcher currently in the Tampa Bay Rays organization, held his own private episode of MTV’s “Cribs” on Thursday. Since he doesn’t have much to show, Lawson was basically able to give us the entire tour with one photo.
The minor league life is luxurious when you make $1180 a month I made a kitchen into my bedroom for the season… Using a coat rack as my closet, air mattress, a box fan, and a handcrafted sheet wall for privacy #MinorLeagueGrinder #KitchenBedroom #MiLBprobz pic.twitter.com/j2WUZgcyyb
— Brandon Lawson (@B_Lawson1213) April 5, 2018
Lawson has been trying to call attention to how little minor leaguers are paid. He also retweeted the following information about the salaries players in the lower levels receive:
Read this. https://t.co/bgmEoJdDhD pic.twitter.com/uXck99MQzG
— Emily Waldon (@EmilyCWaldon) March 22, 2018
The pay for minor leaguers in their first 5 years is a crime… I’ll stand up and say it. Players are paid half the year and most of the time during season pay for all living costs. Justified by you signed the contract….it’s a game and yes it’s a dream doesn’t make it right. pic.twitter.com/j8OS7pbuUj
— Slade Heathcott (@heathcott_slade) March 22, 2018
The pay-off is obviously enormous if you make it to the majors, but most players don’t. For every Giancarlo Stanton who makes $25 million per year, there are hundreds of other “pro” players who are struggling to pay rent. While he’s obviously a good sport about it, it appears Lawson is among them.
