Proposed MiLB Changes Long Overdue

Minor League Baseball is headed for big changes, per a New York Times report, and they’re long overdue. Major League Baseball is deadset on improving the quality of life for players in the minors through improved facilities, better pay, less stressful travel, and improved accommodations.

“We are in discussions with the owners of the Minor League teams to reorganize elements of the system with the goal of improving the working conditions of minor league players,” M.L.B. said in a statement, “including upgrading the facilities to Major League standards, increasing player compensation, reducing travel time between affiliates for road games, improving transportation and hotel accommodations, increasing the number of off days, and providing better geographical affiliations between the M.L.B. Clubs and affiliates.”

(via New York Times)

Every summer, families go to minor league games for a few hours of inexpensive fun. Beyond the dancing mascots and wacky contests, though, there are real underlying issues. Players barely make any money and they spend most of their time in dingy clubhouses, hotels, and buses. This was always thought of as a right of passage for players, and they are willingly chasing a dream, after all, but it’s a significant downgrade in quality of life for guys coming from college. That’s the issue. They shouldn’t be downgrading after making it to the pros, especially when the teams they’re playing for are affiliated to MLB teams that are worth billions.

In MLB’s viewpoint, roughly a quarter of all current MiLB clubs far fall below the level of facilities they view as needed for their minor league players. MLB has essentially put the onus on MiLB to find a way to guarantee those stadiums will all reach what MLB deems as acceptable standards in the near future. If MiLB cannot, then MLB has a proposal to simply reduce the number of affiliated minor league teams going forward to the 75 percent of MiLB clubs that MLB deems capable of meeting their facility needs. MLB would work with MiLB and others to ensure the remaining 25 percent of clubs have baseball teams of some sort, but they would no longer be affiliated MiLB clubs.

(via Baseball America)

There is still a lot to work out between MiLB and MLB but it is clear changes are coming. Pat O’Conner, president of MiLB, sent a letter to minor league teams that referenced “significant impending changes” to the landscape, per the Times. The letter advised franchises to avoid major decisions beyond 2020.

Details will change between now and then as the two hammer out a deal. What’s important, however, is that MLB recognizes where they’re falling short and that they’re trying to remedy the situation. Players who MLB clubs are investing big money in shouldn’t be getting bargain-basement care for their first few years in pro ball.

The current operating agreement between MiLB and MLB expires on September 15th, 2020.