MLB to Small Town America: Drop Dead

[DanOregon]

Minor League teams in Arkansas no longer have to abide by minimum wage standards for players - because keeping track of the hours they were at work was too difficult.

Inside baseball: Legislature exempts minor league players from state minimum wage - Arkansas Times

A bill to exempt minor league baseball players from the minimum wage is headed to the governor. But the players' union supports it.

arktimes.com

They'd have to take off their shoes to count that high?

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

The general plan, I gather, is that each team will have a reserve / "JV" team, which will include marginal replacement level/Class AAAA players, which will play either at the same location (the same park) as the parent team or in the same metro area; an "advanced developmental" team of players within a year or so of the bigs, and a "early developmental" team of highly ranked prospects signed hot out of HS or added in yearly supplemental drafts.

The three levels would correspond most directly to today's Class AAA, Class AA and High-A.

Many or most teams would operate their reserve teams in their own parks in an arrangement directly comparable to the varsity/JV structure at most high schools. ( JV Yankees play at 1 pm, the varsity plays at 7 pm -- or vice versa.)


The current AAA host cities would have the option to bump down to the new "Level 2" which in turn would bump down some current AA to the new "Level 3," etc etc.

Everybody else -- the roster fillers -- would be consigned to play with "independent" teams. Once or twice per year there would be transfer periods during which MLB teams could draft or purchase players from the indy leagues.

Source, please. Or STFU.

 

[Starman]

The source is my own damn eyes, and the obsession of corporate culture with cut cut cutting costs at every possibility. MLB organizations don't want to pay 10 cents on players who aren't going to make the majors and ultimately have no value to them. So they'll cut 'em loose and let the unaffiliated Indy leagues spend the money to develop the roster fillers.

And the fetishization of European sports as the ideal of how sports should be run.

I never said this is what I WANT to happen, but it's damn sure the way things are moving. The owners of Major League Baseball have no interest or intention in preserving minor league baseball. Their only interest is bleeding the carcass.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

The source is my own damn eyes

Thank you for admitting that you made it all up.

 

[ChrisLong]

I've posted this before, the comment from one owner, maybe 30 years ago: "I have to pay millions to fund a minor league system so the two guys who might actually make it have somebody to play catch with."

 

[swingline]

Don't forget the new Marion Berries, starting this May at John Lewis Field/Willamette U in Salem.

Hmm, would have thought that would be in D.C.

 

[LanceyHoward]

I loathe to defend MLB for ... well, anything, but the scope of the minor-league stadiums left them in a no-win situation. They *had* to come up with some way to get the oldest parks up to the current standards.

Our local stadium was like 15 years old when that came out, and in amazing shape and condition, with great amenities, and there was a lot of hand-wringing when they had to find room and money to add locker rooms for potential female umpires, and food-service areas and workout space for the visiting teams, LED lights, etc.

I can't imagine what some of these oldest parks would have had to do to become "compliant," but the threat of losing the team seems to be the only threat that carried any weight in a lot of these places.

But was the condition of the stadium the only standard that was applied for a city to keep their minor affiliate? I thought there were ciiies that had spent a lot of money on newer ballparks that also lost their teams.

 

[micropolitan guy]

Hmm, would have thought that would be in D.C.

It's a pretty cool name. Salem is in Marion county. The marionberry is an Oregon summer delicacy.

The Walla Walla Sweets also play in the league. Another great nickname, how many franchises have an onion for a mascot?

 

[justgladtobehere]

Another thing about the consolidations of the minors is it isn't about saving money, but not paying more overall. With all the changes and benefits, the cost of one minor leaguer has gone up,

 

[I Should Coco]

It's a pretty cool name. Salem is in Marion county. The marionberry is an Oregon summer delicacy.

The Walla Walla Sweets also play in the league. Another great nickname, how many franchises have an onion for a mascot?

That league also has the Yakima Pippins (named after an apple, not a former Chicago Bulls player).

 

[Baron Scicluna]

That league also has the Yakima Pippins (named after an apple, not a former Chicago Bulls player).

If they get pissed off at the manager, do they refuse to come out of the dugout?

 

[Inky_Wretch]