MiLB Ready To Agree To Significant Reduction In Teams

[Syd Thrift]

Ironically I’d say the major sports leagues that holds best to the “players are loyal to their team” thing is the NBA, where there’s a max contract and so players don’t just go to the highest bidder. Instead... they move where they have a good shot at winning, they move where they want to live (Minnesota has specifically been cited as a place a lot of players avoid signing big deals in going back to Stephon Marbury because of the cold winters and lack of a culture that NBA players enjoy), they move to be nearer to their hometown (that was a prominent reason why Lebron went back to Cleveland for instance), and many times the bigger stars move to where they can market themselves the best.

As a result, you see as much movement now as ever before, and there might even now be a soft ceiling for some markets (Minnesota as noted, possibly Utah, even Milwaukee may have issues retaining Giannis) because at the end of the day, why would a guy who was born and raised in Los Angeles and who went to college in San Diego have any “loyalty” whatsoever to a team in San Antonio or Toronto just because those teams drafted him or traded for him? Or for that matter, I don’t see why a guy who grew up in DC, went to college in Texas, and then was drafted by a team in Seattle ought to have any sense of “loyalty” to a franchise that moved to Oklahoma City after the fact.

When you ask for “loyalty”, be careful what you wish for...

[Antonin]

Originally Posted by Syd Thrift

Ironically I’d say the major sports leagues that holds best to the “players are loyal to their team” thing is the NBA, where there’s a max contract and so players don’t just go to the highest bidder. Instead... they move where they have a good shot at winning, they move where they want to live (Minnesota has specifically been cited as a place a lot of players avoid signing big deals in going back to Stephon Marbury because of the cold winters and lack of a culture that NBA players enjoy), they move to be nearer to their hometown (that was a prominent reason why Lebron went back to Cleveland for instance), and many times the bigger stars move to where they can market themselves the best.

As a result, you see as much movement now as ever before, and there might even now be a soft ceiling for some markets (Minnesota as noted, possibly Utah, even Milwaukee may have issues retaining Giannis) because at the end of the day, why would a guy who was born and raised in Los Angeles and who went to college in San Diego have any “loyalty” whatsoever to a team in San Antonio or Toronto just because those teams drafted him or traded for him? Or for that matter, I don’t see why a guy who grew up in DC, went to college in Texas, and then was drafted by a team in Seattle ought to have any sense of “loyalty” to a franchise that moved to Oklahoma City after the fact.

When you ask for “loyalty”, be careful what you wish for...

Good points, but Toronto is one of the coolest cities in the world, in my humble opinion. And I've been to some cool cities. I'd love to live in Toronto.

[actionjackson]

Originally Posted by Antonin

Good points, but Toronto is one of the coolest cities in the world, in my humble opinion. And I've been to some cool cities. I'd love to live in Toronto.

[CBeisbol]

https://twitter.com/esim69/status/12...891254272?s=19

Being a Minor Leaguer rn:

•season likely to be cancelled
•getting paid [insufficiently] as usual
•even this [insufficient] salary may end soon
•one phone call away from leaving home to either AZ or FL
•so obviously can’t get another job
•MLB getting rid of bunch of MiLB teams next yr

[cephasjames]

Being a Minor Leaguer rn:

•season likely to be cancelled - yep. kind of like the donut shop down the road that had to shutter its doors because it wasn't able to pay its bills because everything was shut down.
•getting paid [insufficiently] as usual - yep. kind of like that waitress who works pretty long hours and relies very heavily on tips
•even this [insufficient] salary may end soon - yep. kind of like that waitress who works pretty long hours for a restaurant that probably can't afford her for much longer because it hasn't made much money through the shutdown.
•one phone call away from leaving home to either AZ or FL - yep. that is part of the career you signed up for
•so obviously can’t get another job - yep. that is a choice you must face in the profession that you signed up for.
•MLB getting rid of bunch of MiLB teams next yr - yep. that's the business you signed up to be a part of.

It's all about perception.

I agree 100% that minor leaguers are getting shafted for what they do and that it needs to be fixed (which is part of the reason MLB wants to cut so many minor league teams). But 1) this guy's profession is a choice, and 2) there are all kinds of people who have crappy jobs and are way underpaid for those crappy jobs who do it out necessity, not choice. There is nothing preventing this player from getting a different job that pays better.

[Syd Thrift]

Originally Posted by Antonin

Good points, but Toronto is one of the coolest cities in the world, in my humble opinion. And I've been to some cool cities. I'd love to live in Toronto.

This has nothing to do with how cool Toronto is and everything to do with why a guy born and raised in LA would have little to no “loyalty” for a team that traded for him and had him under contract for a year. Did Kawhi Leonard root for the Raptors as a kid? (hint: no)

[CBeisbol]

Originally Posted by cephasjames

Being a Minor Leaguer rn:

•season likely to be cancelled - yep. kind of like the donut shop down the road that had to shutter its doors because it wasn't able to pay its bills because everything was shut down.
•getting paid [insufficiently] as usual - yep. kind of like that waitress who works pretty long hours and relies very heavily on tips
•even this [insufficient] salary may end soon - yep. kind of like that waitress who works pretty long hours for a restaurant that probably can't afford her for much longer because it hasn't made much money through the shutdown.
•one phone call away from leaving home to either AZ or FL - yep. that is part of the career you signed up for
•so obviously can’t get another job - yep. that is a choice you must face in the profession that you signed up for.
•MLB getting rid of bunch of MiLB teams next yr - yep. that's the business you signed up to be a part of.

It's all about perception.

I agree 100% that minor leaguers are getting shafted for what they do and that it needs to be fixed (which is part of the reason MLB wants to cut so many minor league teams). But 1) this guy's profession is a choice, and 2) there are all kinds of people who have crappy jobs and are way underpaid for those crappy jobs who do it out necessity, not choice. There is nothing preventing this player from getting a different job that pays better.

Also nothing preventing employers from making working conditions better for people.

But, people who work for companies rarely ever want to talk about that

For...reasons,

Also, the number of people who, it would seem, like baseball who have an attitude of "too bad" towards the players is weird.

Venn diagram: people who bemoan how baseball is played now, that it's not as good as it was in the old days and people who take the above attitude of if players trying to succeed in the sport don't like the conditions, they can go elsewhere

[cephasjames]

Originally Posted by CBeisbol

Also nothing preventing employers from making working conditions better for people.

Yep, as my post similarly states.

Originally Posted by CBeisbol

people who take the above attitude of if players trying to succeed in the sport don't like the conditions, they can go elsewhere

Neither his tweet nor my post has anything specifically to do with him trying to succeed in baseball or not. He's simply bemoaning the uncertainty of being an employee of a particular business during these unprecedented, uncertain times. I'm simply saying, "Join the club."

There are jobs out there with less uncertainty that might even pay better and have better hours and benefits if he would choose to apply for them. But if he wants to stick with baseball then what he's getting right now is what he's getting. "Join the club."

[CBeisbol]

Originally Posted by cephasjames

Yep, as my post similarly states.

Neither his tweet nor my post has anything specifically to do with him trying to succeed in baseball or not. He's simply bemoaning the uncertainty of being an employee of a particular business during these unprecedented, uncertain times. I'm simply saying, "Join the club."

There are jobs out there with less uncertainty that might even pay better and have better hours and benefits if he would choose to apply for them. But if he wants to stick with baseball then what he's getting right now is what he's getting. "Join the club."

No

Make noise because the club sucks

[cephasjames]

Originally Posted by CBeisbol

No

Make noise because the club sucks

Yes, it does suck that COVID-19 has made things so uncertain for so many people.

[CBeisbol]

Originally Posted by cephasjames

Yes, it does suck that COVID-19 has made things so uncertain for so many people.

The coronavirus didn't cause the problems, it exposed them

[cephasjames]

Originally Posted by CBeisbol

The coronavirus didn't cause the problems, it exposed them

•season likely to be cancelled - Coronavirus caused problem
•getting paid [insufficiently] as usual - This is the only thing he said that has nothing to do with the coronavirus. Only one other thing on this list is even remotely related to this.
•even this [insufficient] salary may end soon - Coronavirus caused problem
•one phone call away from leaving home to either AZ or FL - Coronavirus caused problem
•so obviously can’t get another job - Choice he's making based on things that are happening because of coronavirus caused problem
•MLB getting rid of bunch of MiLB teams next yr - This is not confirmed yet, but the rumors that it is going to happen are out there because of the effect of the coronavirus on minor league baseball. There was major pushback against it until the coronavirus caused problems by shutting things down. Besides that, part of the reason behind the proposal of this happening is to address the insufficient pay issue MiLB is dealing with.

[WPBExpo]

How much is MLB really saving by eliminating one low-level minor league team per franchise? $5 million a year? It just seems very short-sighted.

[CBeisbol]

Originally Posted by cephasjames

•season likely to be cancelled - Coronavirus caused problem
•getting paid [insufficiently] as usual - This is the only thing he said that has nothing to do with the coronavirus. Only one other thing on this list is even remotely related to this.
•even this [insufficient] salary may end soon - Coronavirus caused problem
•one phone call away from leaving home to either AZ or FL - Coronavirus caused problem
•so obviously can’t get another job - Choice he's making based on things that are happening because of coronavirus caused problem
•MLB getting rid of bunch of MiLB teams next yr - This is not confirmed yet, but the rumors that it is going to happen are out there because of the effect of the coronavirus on minor league baseball. There was major pushback against it until the coronavirus caused problems by shutting things down. Besides that, part of the reason behind the proposal of this happening is to address the insufficient pay issue MiLB is dealing with.

How cute and naive, you think those things are the problems

[cephasjames]

Originally Posted by CBeisbol

How cute and naive, you think those things are the problems

I'm just reading the words the man wrote. Please feel free to enlighten me. I like to learn.

[cephasjames]

Originally Posted by CBeisbol

How cute and naive, you think those things are the problems

Originally Posted by cephasjames

I'm just reading the words the man wrote. Please feel free to enlighten me. I like to learn.

I'm ready whenever you are.

Originally Posted by CBeisbol

If people present thoughtful, well-reasoned, good-faith arguments, I try to respond in kind.

I'm attempting a thoughtful, well-reasoned, good-faith conversation with you if you're willing to have it. So far, it seems as if you are not willing to live up to your own words.

[cephasjames]

Originally Posted by cephasjames

I'm ready whenever you are.

I'm attempting a thoughtful, well-reasoned, good-faith conversation with you if you're willing to have it. So far, it seems as if you are not willing to live up to your own words.

Well, it's been a couple of days and since you haven't responded here while responding elsewhere, I'm assuming you've once again stuck your fingers in your ears and run away, yelling, "La la la, I can't hear you."

I'm assuming it's because you're either lazy and don't want to put in the work of a well thought out post or you're a liar and genuinely don't want to have thoughtful, well-reasoned, good-faith arguments as you've claimed. Which makes sense since you seem to gravitate towards sniping at low hanging fruit in places like Off Topic Debates.

Oh well, I was genuinely curious to hear what you had to say. "Get used to disappointment," as the Dread Pirate Roberts would say.

[cephasjames]

Twins Minor League Affiliate Lists Stadium on Airbnb
Maybe this speaks to the financial issues minor league teams are facing with the coronavirus shut down. Maybe not. MiLB accepting MLB's proposal stills seems to be a rumor at this point, but stories like the above can't help MiLB's situation.

[CBeisbol]

Originally Posted by cephasjames

Well, it's been a couple of days and since you haven't responded here while responding elsewhere, I'm assuming you've once again stuck your fingers in your ears and run away, yelling, "La la la, I can't hear you."

I'm assuming it's because you're either lazy and don't want to put in the work of a well thought out post or you're a liar and genuinely don't want to have thoughtful, well-reasoned, good-faith arguments as you've claimed. Which makes sense since you seem to gravitate towards sniping at low hanging fruit in places like Off Topic Debates.

Oh well, I was genuinely curious to hear what you had to say. "Get used to disappointment," as the Dread Pirate Roberts would say.

Well, I removed myself from the Off Topic Forum because there was little satisfaction to be gained from that low-hanging fruit.

I may be lazy
I may be a liar
Or you and I may have different opinions on where you are on the tree

[mgom27]

Maybe MLB follow NHL and allow Draft Picks to stay in School intill ready to sign but after 4 years and hasen't sIgned returns to Draft excluding Overseas guys.