According to MiLBAdvocates, Angels are not paying their Minor Leaguers despite saying they'd be paid $400/week stipends through August

[Stradling]

Just now, Lou said:

If a player gets a bonus of a few thousand dollars they are making more than minimum wage.  Would you guys be ok if they were paid minimum wage and no signing bonus?

Sure if there was no draft.  

[Stradling]

Just now, Lou said:

Link?

No Lincoln.

[kevinb]

1 minute ago, Lou said:

If a player gets a bonus of a few thousand dollars they are making more than minimum wage.  Would you guys be ok if they were paid minimum wage and no signing bonus?

Yes. Absolutely. I am for whatever makes who ever the most money they can possibly negotiate for. 

[Lou]

1 minute ago, Kevinb said:

All ask the same question to you as I did @Game 6 would you ok with MLB getting rid of the draft and having a free market system for the minor leagues? 

I don't care either way. Other than the playoffs,  I'll still watch the Angels and that's it. 

[Lou]

1 minute ago, Stradling said:

Sure if there was no draft.  

What does having a draft have to do with it?

[Lou]

2 minutes ago, Stradling said:

No Lincoln.

Mine was relevant.

[kevinb]

1 minute ago, Lou said:

I don't care either way. Other than the playoffs,  I'll still watch the Angels and that's it. 

We've agreed. Now lets talk to Manfred and get this settled. I'll have the lawyers start drawing up the contracts. 

[Lou]

Just now, Kevinb said:

We've agreed. Now lets talk to Manfred and get this settled. I'll have the lawyers start drawing up the contracts. 

Good, because I'm watching the England v Australia T20 match right now. 

[kevinb]

Just now, Lou said:

Good, because I'm watching the England v Australia T20 match right now. 

T20? I am guessing this is rugby? But would have no idea. 

[Lou]

Just now, Kevinb said:

T20? I am guessing this is rugby? But would have no idea. 

Surely you jest.

Cricket, mate. A gentleman's game. 

[kevinb]

3 minutes ago, Lou said:

What does having a draft have to do with it?

An actual free market. Let players who come into the league have choice and negotiation abilities to set their own terms of their deals. 

[Stradling]

2 minutes ago, Lou said:

What does having a draft have to do with it?

The draft makes it less of a free market.  They are tied to the team for a minimum of 5 years and a maximum of 11 years.  They don’t have the ability to negotiate pay at all.  They can be traded and your only recourse is to quit.  It is unique to sports really.  You can’t take your skill set in sports and just apply it to somewhere else.  If I quit I could go do what I do somewhere else.  They really can’t.  

[Lou]

7 minutes ago, Stradling said:

The draft makes it less of a free market.  They are tied to the team for a minimum of 5 years and a maximum of 11 years.  They don’t have the ability to negotiate pay at all.  They can be traded and your only recourse is to quit.  It is unique to sports really.  You can’t take your skill set in sports and just apply it to somewhere else.  If I quit I could go do what I do somewhere else.  They really can’t.  

There are leagues that aren't MLB/MiLB. They choose the league they play in. 

[kevinb]

14 minutes ago, Game 6 said:

This is a really stupid idea on several levels but I'll respond to the most obvious one.

Would you be ok with the Yankees, Dodgers and Mets with their new owner and other large market teams buying up all the best prospects?

Serious, baseball already has built in issues with big market vs. small market teams. The owners don't share revenue like Football. They don't have a salary cap like Football and Basketball. 

What you are proposing would destroy MLB.

I mean there are lots of owners who would be negotiating. So we don't know who would get the best prospects. Alabama doesn't get every best football recruit they go out for. Competition would be good. I am for letting the owners and players make as much money as possible. A complete free market would be best for everyone. Maybe these players would be making more money than they are making now and wouldn't be getting less than minimum wage? Maybe they would be getting less than that? No one knows. To your, well the Dodgers and Yankees and Mets would just buy up everything, Um no they wouldn't They aren't the only people signing free agents. The Angels paid for Rendon and gave out Trout the most lucrative contract in sports. The Marlins signed and then traded Stanton to a massive deal. I also believe there should be revenue sharing in MLB, I think there should be a salary floor but not a salary cap. I can't remember but who won the World Series last year? Who won it the year before? When was the last time the Yankees or Dodgers won a World Series. For that matter when was the last time the Mets did? It wouldn't destroy the MLB at all.

Why are you not for letting the players make as much money as they possibly can? Let them experience a true free market. 

What would LeBron be worth in a total free market in the NBA? Brady in his prime? etc? The only reason there are salary caps in sports is to protect the owners from themselves. Because the players are worth much more than they are getting paid. Imagine if there was no soft cap in MLB. What would happen? What would players be getting paid? I think that world would be much more interesting.  

[DreamingOf02]

The Arte hate on Twitter is astounding.

Since Arte Moreno saved $175 million on the originally-projected stadium deal, he should:

•Bring back all of the furloughed employees
•Pay minor leaguers a living wage
•Allocate more resources to a pitching staff that only accounts for 17.53 percent of the payroll#Angels

— Brent Maguire (@bmags94) September 4, 2020

[Angels in 2030]

Arte isn't cheap....that's obvious with some of the huge contracts given out.  But there is a pattern of this organization, since Arte, lessening the organizational scope -- meaning less scouts, less int'l presence, etc.  This year alone there's been several negative items out there on the LA Angels regarding them not paying minor leaguers enough, furloughs, etc.  They seem to be label as a team on the far end of the "let's save a buck" side.  Whether that is a valid criticism and fact is not the point.  It's out there and perception is reality.  Maybe it's true...maybe it's a disgruntled employee(s) feeding bad info for a hit job.  IDK.  But there's a lot of smoke.  Could be overstated.  But again, perception is reality and the perception is Arte/Angels are being cheap with the lower end of the organization.   

[AngelsLakersFan]

15 hours ago, Game 6 said:

At the age we are talking about here many, many people take a step back to move forward and into a career - internships, PA's, entry level sales rep's, etc.

I made less than minimum wage in the first year of my first job out of college based on the hours required to do the job successfully. My first year out of college I made less than I did waiting tables in college. But I knew there was an opportunity for future growth. And I realized the opportunity. This is how the world works at times.

And guess what, these MiLB kids who don't make it have a great story about perseverance and their personal path that they can take into any interview they are ever in. Forever. They are not indentured servants. They are kids following a dream.

Just because every industry takes advantage of people with limited negotiating power doesn't make it right. This is the reason for 90% of the inequality we see in this country today. Just because you were willing to sacrifice what you did doesn't mean you should've had to and it isn't like everyone else is in the same position to be able to. 

 

[Jeff Fletcher]

1 hour ago, Stradling said:

Pretty sure it is all rounds.

All rounds get bonuses. In the first 10 rounds it's 100k or more, after that it drops off pretty quick. Most guys taken after the 15th round or so get like 5k or 10k. There are 40 rounds.

Obviously, there are some minor leaguers who get big bonuses, and there are some minor leaguers who have advanced to AAA or got on a 40-man roster who are doing fine.

It's not the end of the world.

I just don't feel that it's fair that someone who is working at McDonalds and may have no skills whatsoever should be paid more per hour than someone who is one of the top 5,000 people in the world at what they do, just because his industry has found a loophole around the laws that apply to McDonald's.

I also don't think whether the person loves what he does should matter to how much money his labor is worth.

And that's all I have to say about it.

[AngelsLakersFan]

2 hours ago, Dtwncbad said:

I just don’t see exactly why minor leaguers “need to be paid better” . . .

By and large they are thrilled to be in the position they are in.  And when they stop being thrilled they maybe decide to do something else.  And the guy that replaces him is thrilled.

I am speaking in generalities here of course.

I recall my early days in my 20s of basically trading my work for a combination of experience/opportunity (rather than pay) and it was perfectly fine for what I was trying to accomplish long term.

I simply view the minor leagues the same way.  It’s just my opinion.

It seems that everyone on here taking this position was abused by an employer earlier in their career and now justifies it to themselves by saying it built character and therefore everyone should experience it.

[Lou]

16 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

All rounds get bonuses. In the first 10 rounds it's 100k or more, after that it drops off pretty quick. Most guys taken after the 15th round or so get like 5k or 10k. There are 40 rounds.

Obviously, there are some minor leaguers who get big bonuses, and there are some minor leaguers who have advanced to AAA or got on a 40-man roster who are doing fine.

It's not the end of the world.

I just don't feel that it's fair that someone who is working at McDonalds and may have no skills whatsoever should be paid more per hour than someone who is one of the top 5,000 people in the world at what they do, just because his industry has found a loophole around the laws that apply to McDonald's.

I also don't think whether the person loves what he does should matter to how much money his labor is worth.

And that's all I have to say about it.

So if every minor leaguer was making at least minimum wage, you would be ok with how they are being paid? For the record, I'm with you on the minimum wage thing.

What I have a problem with is people who are upset that they aren't getting paid more this year than their contracts called for, considering they haven't worked at all. 

[angelinkc]

I find it very interesting that people love to tell a rich man how he should spend his money. I’m sure these same people donate every penny they save on double coupon days. 

[AngelsLakersFan]

20 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

I just don't feel that it's fair that someone who is working at McDonalds and may have no skills whatsoever should be paid more per hour than someone who is one of the top 5,000 people in the world at what they do, just because his industry has found a loophole around the laws that apply to McDonald's.

I also don't think whether the person loves what he does should matter to how much money his labor is worth.

I just want everyone to play by the same rules. If there is a minimum wage you should be paid it, I don't understand why some find that so controversial.

[Lou]

11 minutes ago, AngelsLakersFan said:

I just want everyone to play by the same rules. If there is a minimum wage you should be paid it, I don't understand why some find that so controversial.

Do people really find it controversial?

[Lou]

With the upcoming increases in pay for minor leaguers, will they be making minimum wage? 

[Jeff Fletcher]

43 minutes ago, Lou said:

So if every minor leaguer was making at least minimum wage, you would be ok with how they are being paid? For the record, I'm with you on the minimum wage thing.

What I have a problem with is people who are upset that they aren't getting paid more this year than their contracts called for, considering they haven't worked at all. 

Like I said a few pages ago, those are two totally separate discussions.