Like Apprenticeship Programs or Artistic Pursuits: Minor League Baseball reporting 2017

in no way do I mean this in approval of this terrible system... but honestly I'd be a much happier person right now if I was playing minor league baseball for $10/hr

the fact that it won't start until next season makes it look expressly like 'look what we can do if we save money by contracting a quarter of the minors'

good three part fangraphage on that from last week btw:
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/untangling-a-minor-league-mess-part-i
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/untangling-a-minor-league-mess-part-ii
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/untangling-a-minor-league-mess-part-iii

i think this could inspire a new 2020 thread title mook

I suppose this is on-brand given the low player salaries: Minor League Baseball announced a sponsorship deal making Stauffer's the "official frozen prepared meals" of MiLB.

— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) February 24, 2020

https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-season-without-baseball-could-be-crushing-blow-for-minor-leagues-11586430020?mod=djemMTIPOFF_h

welp

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/sources-milb-ready-to-agree-to-significant-reduction-in-teams

Started to feel inevitable

A's told minor leaguers they've decided to end their $400/week stipend on May 31, with five days' notice. The part that says "your UPC remains in place" means "we won't pay you, but you do not have the right to be a free agent." Interesting this was sent by GM and not ownership. https://t.co/PJ2B4k1d5B

— Lindsey Adler (@lindseyadler) May 27, 2020

Just some rough math. Say there are 200 players in a minor league system. Paying each $400/week for July, July and August is $5,200 per player. To pay every minor leaguer would have cost the Oakland A's a hair over $1 million.

Owner John Fisher is worth an estimated $2 billion.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) May 27, 2020

the sad part is that the $1M would probably be a good "investment", just in terms of boosting the morale/performance of players through the noble act of paying them

if some traveling salesman came by Fisher's office and offered to inject snake oil into the veins of all the players in his organization to boost their morale and performance for 3 months, at the insanely low price of only $1M, he would probably do it

the fuckin *marlins* are paying their dudes through august

We're not selling jeans here...

hundreds of minor leaguers are being released, although it's difficult to track because MLB's (and therefore baseball america's, etc.) transactions list is not being updated

https://mlb.nbcsports.com/2020/05/28/teams-releasing-bunches-of-minor-leaguers-today

the march agreement between MLB and the MLBPA stipulated that 2020 would count for players' service time whether there's a season or not, e.g., mookie's gonna be a free agent even if he never plays a game for the dodgers

no one seems to know if the same holds true for minor leaguers, or who even gets to make that decision. my guess is that the commissioner just dictates it.

there aren't that many 6th-year minor league free agents or rule 5 picks who actually make it -- i can only think of yangervis solarte and odubel herrera recently, and they aren't great -- but it would be pretty fucked up if minor leaguers had to spend an extra year on their entry contracts. especially if they play for the a's, who won't even pay them

just catching up on this

Charlie Finley days still here

season officially canceled in the most passive aggressive way possible

pic.twitter.com/XEDFmfHTmI

— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) June 30, 2020

Why MLB's minor leagues as you know them will end Sept. 30

Some expressed suspicion that fellow owners have been sharing information with MLB in hopes of currying favor. "They're doing to us what they do to the major and minor league players: pitting us against each other," the owner said.

Several other minor league owners declined to speak for attribution because they still hope their teams will be spared and they fear retribution from MLB. "They have all the power," one said. "And they're vindictive."

this sentence is pretty brutal

Minor League Baseball executives and owners have tried for 11 months to find some sort of leverage with MLB, whether through direct talks or public and congressional pressure, before realizing they really have none, according to more than a dozen major and minor league officials, team owners and others interviewed by ESPN.

Breaking: Minor League Baseball President Pat O’Conner to retire after 2020 season. O’Conner spent 28 years with MiLB office, 38 years working in pro ball. The 11th MiLB prez, O’Conner’s office might be eliminated during ongoing negotiations between MLB and MiLB.

— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) September 8, 2020

Pat O’Conner openly bragged about helping MLB lobby Congress to pass the Save America’s Pastime Act, one of the most contemptible pieces of legislation in recent memory, only to learn there is no honor amongst thieves when MLB still moved to eliminate Minor League teams. https://t.co/gU2OHRb7rt pic.twitter.com/4zpxOAF9gZ

— Nick Francona (@NickFrancona) September 8, 2020

it begins

MLB and USA Baseball will announce their plans for the Appalachian League. College wood bat league here we come: pic.twitter.com/lzgtx7PFkq

— Carlos Collazo (@CarlosACollazo) September 25, 2020

https://ballparkdigest.com/2020/11/02/details-of-mlb-takeover-of-milb-emerge

Did.....did we just get dumped via Twitter?! https://t.co/tV7iyVOwA3

— Columbia Fireflies (@ColaFireflies) November 10, 2020

apparently columbia, trenton and staten island all learned through social media that they were no longer affiliated (the latter two with the yankees)

classy af

the pioneer league (utah/idaho/montana/colorado) is now independent

trenton, williamsport, mahoning valley, state college and morgantown are now the 'mlb draft league'

idk who is going to fill out all these rosters tbh

The Staten Island Yankees announce they are ceasing operations and are suing the New York Yankees and Major League Baseball. pic.twitter.com/ULY7ORm49L

— JJ Cooper (@jjcoop36) December 3, 2020

struggling to feel bad for the staten island yankees tbrr

in the yankees v yankees fight, I'm hoping the yankees lose.

i don't really care about staten island's ownership, but NYC spent $30m to build that ballpark in the specific expectation that it would host a yankees affiliate. the city of wichita just spent $85m to build a triple-a stadium; they've already been relegated to double-a before even fielding a team.

there's a lot of public money tied up in these ballparks -- which was admittedly stupid! -- and i don't like seeing that go to waste

for sure

'invitations' going out today to 119 teams. there is a lot of bitterness

11 full-season clubs did not receive invitations from MLB to join the minors in 2021.

Full list: https://t.co/MOf6CpSQ2I pic.twitter.com/dZmdUdVY5n

— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) December 9, 2020

damn, RIP burlington bees. that's where my grandma and a couple of my relatives lived. there is very little going on in burlington, and now that the bees are leaving, truly nothing.

i guess there's a railroad that goes through town, some freight passes by every once in a while and blows the dust around a bit

Burlington Bees GM Kim Parker tells me they are leaning towards entering a collegiate wood bat league. No official announcement at this point.

— Tommy Birch (@TommyBirch) December 9, 2020

vancouver and brooklyn and portland, oregon going full-season is cool, at least

yeah a full season cyclones team is super dope

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/12/monsters-of-2020-the-people-who-gutted-minor-league-baseball/

vancouver and brooklyn and portland, oregon going full-season is cool, at least

― mookieproof, Wednesday, December 9, 2020 2:57 PM (one month ago) bookmarkflaglink

this had escaped my attention until now. glad about this.

i don't have a subscription and the preview doesn't go into the meaty bits, but this *sounds* pretty bad

Minor League teams have learned in recent days they will not receive proceeds from 2020 national merchandise sales.

The reason?

MiLB's league office used that money to stay afloat over the past year.@jjcoop36 has the latest details: https://t.co/m0UBlywWFA

— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) February 9, 2021

Officially official

This is the new Minor League Baseball landscape pic.twitter.com/UvyOAkWPcB

— Benjamin Hill (@bensbiz) February 12, 2021

@mookieproof how's your Spanish?

Organization Name: Advocates for Minor Leaguers
Website: advocatesforminorleaguers.com
Job Post Date: 19 Apr 2021
Job Terms: Full Time

Job Description

- Assisting Executive Director in facilitating a relationship of trust between Advocates for Minor Leaguers and each of more than 5,000 Minor League baseball players
- Fielding and responding to questions and requests from Minor League baseball players
- Organizing frequent meetings with the Advocates for Minor Leaguers player leaders
- Traveling to Minor League stadiums and Spring Training facilities to meet with Minor League players
- Supporting Grassroots Coordinator in execution of his or her job responsibilities

Qualifications

Skills: - Passionate about the mistreatment of Minor League baseball players
- Fluent in Spanish
- Experience with grassroots and/or union organizing
- Strong verbal communication skills
- Demonstrated leadership ability
- A willingness to travel and work irregular hours, including nights and weekends

Organization Description

Advocates for Minor Leaguers is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, gender identity, or sexual orientation. We value diversity, equity, and inclusion, and we encourage diverse candidates to apply.

How to Apply

This position is remote but will require significant travel. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis. Please send both a cover letter explaining your interest in the position and a resume to ha✧✧✧@milbadvoca✧✧✧.c✧✧.

Contact: Harry Marino
Email: h a r r y @ m i l b a d v o c a t e s . c o m

Here is the full release on the Pioneer League going to Home Run Derby instead of extra innings pic.twitter.com/0p30e84hYK

— Shaun Rainey (@ShaunRainey) April 27, 2021

The theme of this thread: Holy shit, minor league starters are working way, way less hard. Remember when 100 pitches was normal?

In the last five days, four minor league pitchers have reached 100 pitches. Not four per level, not four per day, four *total* (all AAA vets)

— Brendan Gawlowski (@GawlowskiB) May 25, 2021

Seems like an overreaction to a pretty obvious development... teams know a lot more now about how fragile pitchers' arms are while their bodies are still growing. I would rather have more starting pitchers making it to the majors in one piece and then throwing deeper into games instead of everyone constantly getting TJs all the time

Not of general interest, but: I've posted before about Darren Shred, I guy I coached in middle school who was drafted by the Reds. That didn't work out, then he was playing for Barrie in the Intercounty League, then the pandemic happened...so I checked around, and it looks like he's moved on to something pretty good:

https://www.objbaseball.com/news/shred-jumps-into-new-role-with-obj

Actually, that happened just before the pandemic; hope he managed to hold on to this.

Very cool.

Single A Lakeland beat Clearwater yesterday, 10-5 -- on three hits. Correct: 10 runs on three hits. In what might or might not be a shocking revelation, Clearwater walked 16 Flying Tigers batters. Repeat: 16 walks. Clearwater's pitching coach remains under observation ...

— Lynn G. Henning (@Lynn_Henning) September 4, 2021

BREAKING: Major League Baseball teams will provide housing for minor league baseball players starting in 2022, sources tell ESPN.

Details on the monumental change @espn: https://t.co/Wzw2pWU55i

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 17, 2021

how about that