MLB owners are having a rough time. Their franchises may be worth billions on paper, but their business model is completely shot without any revenue (as are so many others, duh), and they are looking at significant unanticipated financial losses this year. Many owners have furloughed team employees. The owners and players are fighting over how much the latter will be paid in a return to action without fans.
The situation is not good for either group, nor for the furloughed workers, or anyone in the country who has lost his/her job. But Mitch Horacek reminded us of another often forgotten group: minor league players.
Horacek, who is a 28-year-old left-handed pitcher, shared the difficulties he and others like him are enduring. He says he is being paid 13 percent of his salary and as a minor leaguer, is not involved in MLB/MLBPA negotiations.
I’m a Twins employee being paid 13% of my salary to be 100% ready to play baseball at a moment’s notice.
I’m also locked out of MLB/MLBPA negotiations because MLBPA doesn’t represent minor leaguers. https://t.co/lx5llcj0Y3
— Mitch Horacek (@mhoracek14) May 22, 2020
As Horacek says, minor leaguers only get enough from the owners to fight off negative publicity.
The point is that MiLB players are treated like second class citizens.
Twins staff gets full salary.
Twins 40 man gets negotiated cut of agreed salary
Twins MiLB get what owners feel is enough to ward off bad public opinion, nothing more.
— Mitch Horacek (@mhoracek14) May 22, 2020
That’s a rough situation for them to be in, and more proof of how much the total economic shutdown is hurting certain groups of people, and disproportionately negatively affecting those making the least amounts of money.
Here’s the thing, and it’s something so many people seem to either forget or ignore: how do you expect owners to pay all these people on a massive, multi-million dollar payroll, with NO revenue? Sports need to come back, and baseball players need to share in the losses that the sport will incur this year in order to make a season happen. And a season needs to happen for all parties to be better off — major league, minor league, owners, team workers, and fans.
