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NEW YORK – Minor league players in the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies farming systems wear teal bracelets on Saturday in protest over wages they deem insufficient.
At least 10 players from the Brooklyn Cyclones and Jersey Shore BlueClaws wore the bracelets – which feature the hashtag #FairBall – during their High-A game in New York. The protest was organized in part by Advocates for Minor Leaguers, who also handed out the bracelets to fans and distributed brochures detailing the financial problems faced by the players.
“Minor League Baseball players have been gravely underpaid and silenced for decades,” players from both teams said in a joint statement released by Advocates for Minor Leaguers to The Associated Press. “Today we are wearing #FairBall bracelets to show our solidarity with all the fans and allies working to change this. We love baseball, but it has to evolve. It’s time for every minor league player to earn a living. . “
High-A players earn at least $ 500 per week and only get paid during the minor league season of around six months. While some players get signing bonuses worth hundreds of thousands – even millions – of dollars for entering the professional ball, many sign for as little as $ 1,000.
The financial burden has prompted players to sleep on couches, air mattresses or floors in overcrowded apartments, play with ragged equipment, and seek charity from fans and luckier teammates.
“Players who donned bracelets in Brooklyn today will earn less than $ 12,000 this year,” Advocates for Minor Leaguers said in a statement to the AP. “The MLB teams they play for are worth well over $ 2 billion. There is absolutely no excuse for that. We are proud of these players who stand up for each other. Their message should be heard loud and clear. and strong in the industry: It’s time to pay the minor leaguers a living wage. “
Minor league defenders planned to hand out bracelets and brochures at several other stadiums across the country on Saturday, though the players’ protest in Brooklyn was to be the only protest on the field. The brochures suggest that MLB teams extend salary to players during the offseason and provide players with accommodation and three meals a day during the season.
While major league players earn a minimum of $ 570,500, players under contract with minor leagues are not part of the Major League Baseball Players’ Association. Prior to this season, players at the lowest levels of minors were earning as little as $ 4,800 per year. Garrett Broshuis, co-founder of Advocates for Minor Leaguers, said he would like minor league players to eventually form their own union.
Major League Baseball increased minor league salaries in 2021, with full-season minor leaguers earning between $ 12,000 and $ 16,800 per season. The federal poverty line is $ 12,880 for individuals.
The increase came amid a reshuffle to the player development pipeline that included reducing affiliate miners from 160 to 120 teams.
“We have been seven months into a significant change that aims to address long-standing issues that have impacted minor league players,” MLB said in a statement to the AP. “Improving the working conditions and remuneration of minor leaguers is one of the main objectives of modernizing our player development system.
“The wages and working conditions of the players are unequivocally better than they were under the previous structure. Although there is still work left, huge progress has been made by increasing wages from 38 to 72 % for 2021, by improving facilities, offering more amenities and better clubhouse conditions and reducing trips in season with better geographic alignment. “
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