The Athletic: In extended spring training, minor leaguers lament lack of pay: ‘Just a mess’

[ten ocho recon scout]

9 hours ago, eligrba said:

Sometimes I use a tortilla instead of bread and make a ham wrap.  Does that count?

As long as you call it jamon

[Second Base]

Man, this sucks. 

[tdawg87]

13 minutes ago, Lou said:

How happy would you be if you received free rent and 2 meals per day? 

Would that make thing easier for you? 

Sure.

[tdawg87]

Also

23 hours ago, tdawg87 said:

This will get downplayed by the usual suspects.

 

[WicketMaiden]

If they're getting free accommodation, plus two free meals a day (which I would imagine would be highly nutritious), plus transport to games / training, plus $140 a week, then that sounds pretty fair to me for a young man that should be 100% focussed on becoming a better player. I would imagine a lot of families are trying to get by on less than $140 a week after rent, household bills, transport to work, and most of their food is taken care of. What's the fuss?

(And this is coming from a European pro-trade unionist that would be considered waaaay to the left of anything on your mainstream political spectrum.)

[ten ocho recon scout]

I said it last time this topic came up.

I think its pathetic in a lot of ways that the Angels do this. I say that because Id like to think this org is interested in investing in its product. Spending to make its product better. Etc etc.

That said.

I also take the Lou stance. Literally youre only worth your market. Any one of these guys are free to accept reality, that they arent good enough to pay them an adult wage to play a game.

A few of my closest friends are fighters. My gym has 5 pros.... 5 guys who are contract fighters with either UFC or Bellator. 

... then theres a handful of other guys... made up of either guys who wanted to be, then moved on and got real jobs, and train for fun, and a few others... who didnt realize it in time... who could kick the shit out of 99 percent of the worlds population... but not nesr good enough to compete with the other 1 percent on the pro stage... and are in their late 20s now, with no backup plan.

One of my favorites is a contract fighter, and a bonafide star.... just not an A lister. 

Covid killed it for him... no fights... so he joined the Army...

 

... fights on the weekends to keep sharp, and will likely go back to it when hes out (and has GI benefits).

Essentially he realized reality, and that no matter how much better than me and the 99 percent he is, he's not good enough to retire off his skills. 

The minor league guys need to give hard considerstion to that.

[tdawg87]

1 minute ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

I said it last time this topic came up.

I think its pathetic in a lot of ways that the Angels do this. I say that because Id like to think this org is interested in investing in its product. Spending to make its product better. Etc etc.

That said.

I also take the Lou stance. Literally youre only worth your market. Any one of these guys are free to accept reality, that they arent good enough to pay them an adult wage to play a game.

A few of my closest friends are fighters. My gym has 5 pros.... 5 guys who are contract fighters with either UFC or Bellator. 

... then theres a handful of other guys... made up of either guys who wanted to be, then moved on and got real jobs, and train for fun, and a few others... who didnt realize it in time... who could kick the shit out of 99 percent of the worlds population... but not nesr good enough to compete with the other 1 percent on the pro stage... and are in their late 20s now, with no backup plan.

One of my favorites is a contract fighter, and a bonafide star.... just not an A lister. 

Covid killed it for him... no fights... so he joined the Army...

 

... fights on the weekends to keep sharp, and will likely go back to it when hes out (and has GI benefits).

Essentially he realized reality, and that no matter how much better than me and the 99 percent he is, he's not good enough to retire off his skills. 

The minor league guys need to give hard considerstion to that.

We should just not have minor leaguers.

[ten ocho recon scout]

4 minutes ago, WicketMaiden said:

If they're getting free accommodation, plus two free meals a day (which I would imagine would be highly nutritious), plus transport to games / training, plus $140 a week, then that sounds pretty fair to me for a young man that should be 100% focussed on becoming a better player. I would imagine a lot of families are trying to get by on less than $140 a week after rent, household bills, transport to work, and most of their food is taken care of. What's the fuss?

(And this is coming from a European pro-trade unionist that would be considered waaaay to the left of anything on your mainstream political spectrum.)

Plus those 2 meals are American food. Not that, you know.... Britt stuff...

(Alright Ill admit, the beans and tomatos breakfast thing is pretty legit)

[Lou]

7 minutes ago, tdawg87 said:

Also

 

Not a single person has stated that players shouldn't be paid for extended spring training. 

[ten ocho recon scout]

1 minute ago, tdawg87 said:

We should just not have minor leaguers.

The ones who actually have skills are paid a shit ton of money up front as 17 and 18 year olds... when decades worth of odds and stats say it will be a waste of money, and youll never get a return on your investment.

The rest are merely sparring partners...

How much is it worth to pay somebody who nobody is ever going to pay to see go play?

[WicketMaiden]

24 minutes ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

Plus those 2 meals are American food. Not that, you know.... Britt stuff...

(Alright Ill admit, the beans and tomatos breakfast thing is pretty legit)

One of my favourite meals: Full English Breakfast.

[tdawg87]

2 minutes ago, Lou said:

Not a single person has stated that players shouldn't be paid for extended spring training. 

Yeah, and?

You've downplayed it. Just like I said.

[Lou]

Just now, tdawg87 said:

Yeah, and?

You've downplayed it. Just like I said.

I specifically stated that they should be paid.

What have I downplayed? 

How have I done so? 

[ten ocho recon scout]

Everybody realizes that these guys are like 7 rungs down on the skills level of say Andrew Velazquez, right?

Maybe some of the people who are good at this type of thing can look it up, but what are the odds any of these extended spring training guys ever make it to the big leaugues? 

Ill make the bold statement that the breakdancers who perform for tips in Central Park NYC are every bit as talented as these guys, if not more. So are magicians. So are a lot of surfers, power lifters, and on and on and on.

Whats the market for any of those things? If say we all get together and recruit these breakdancers and power lifters etc, and pay them a living wage, how mucj return on investment do you think we'll see on our money?

[ten ocho recon scout]

4 minutes ago, WicketMaiden said:

One of my favourite meals: Full English Breakfast.

There it is.

Every time Im there, I wonder why its not more popular over here.

[Lou]

8 minutes ago, WicketMaiden said:

One of my favourite meals: Full English Breakfast.

I actually asked my Irish friend about this a few days ago when she said she'd make me a "full breakfast" when she visits. 

Evidently, those are baked beans in "red sauce". Then there's something called "black and white pudding ", which I've learned is nothing like the pudding we eat here. 

[Lou]

2 minutes ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

Everybody realizes that these guys are like 7 rungs down on the skills level of say Andrew Velazquez, right?

Maybe some of the people who are good at this type of thing can look it up, but what are the odds any of these extended spring training guys ever make it to the big leaugues? 

Ill make the bold statement that the breakdancers who perform for tips in Central Park NYC are every bit as talented as these guys, if not more. So are magicians. So are a lot of surfers, power lifters, and on and on and on.

Whats the market for any of those things? If say we all get together and recruit these breakdancers and power lifters etc, and pay them a living wage, how mucj return on investment do you think we'll see on our money?

Why are you downplaying this crisis?

Oh, and the ROI would be a lot more. 

[tdawg87]

Nah. You guys can do your thing. I'm not gonna bother anymore.

[Lou]

Just now, tdawg87 said:

Nah. You guys can do your thing. I'm not gonna bother anymore.

Please, don't run away now...

5 minutes ago, Lou said:

I specifically stated that they should be paid.

What have I downplayed? 

How have I done so? 

 

[Lou]

I may have breakfast for dinner tonight. 

[WicketMaiden]

23 minutes ago, Lou said:

I actually asked my Irish friend about this a few days ago when she said she'd make me a "full breakfast" when she visits. 

Evidently, those are baked beans in "red sauce". Then there's something called " black and white pudding ", which I've learned is nothing like the pudding we eat here. 

Black pudding is an English delight, a pan fried blood sausage. Really tasty, high in fat and iron, and I think best served well done. Some people are put off just by the idea of blood sausage so it's not as popular as it should be, but those that do like it absolutely love it. Highly recommended.The flavour goes really well with the hash browns and fried eggs.

[Lou]

Just now, WicketMaiden said:

Black pudding is an English delight, a pan fried blood sausage. Really tasty, high in fat and iron, and I think best served well done. Some people are put off just by the idea of blood sausage so it's not as popular as it should be, but those that do like it absolutely love it. Highly recommended.The flavour goes really well with the hash browns and fried eggs.

Blood sausage is disgusting. My friend agrees.

[Justin]

10 minutes ago, Lou said:

I actually asked my Irish friend about this a few days ago when she said she'd make me a "full breakfast" when she visits. 

Evidently, those are baked beans in "red sauce". Then there's something called "black and white pudding ", which I've learned is nothing like the pudding we eat here. 

Ever had spotted dick? 

[Lou]

Just now, Justin said:

Ever had spotted dick? 

I don't bang hookers 

[ten ocho recon scout]

Tdawg, at least speaking for myself, nobody here is arguing for greed and minimum wage. Like I said, Id prefer the Angels spend the shit out of the development side, and actually habe a pipeline of talent.

But from an economics side, what sense does it make to pay for something thats never going to make money?

Look how much money this team wasted on guys like Pujols and Hamilton. 

The guys in extended spring wont ever in a million years come close to the skill and talent of either of those two.

Look at the crowd at Oakland games... the Marlins.. etc. And those rosters are light years ahead of A ball players.

Without revenue sharing, those teams would fold.

At any point, they can say "fuck this", walk away and go to work like you, me, and the other 360 million people of us in this country not good enough to play baseball for money. 

Think about how many wannabe actors, singers and comedians are bombing at open mic night tonight. And then convince someone to spend 5 figures on them. Because they really want to keep singing or doing impressions.