Last Wednesday, ESPN's Jeff Passan broke the news that the Minor League Baseball Players Association and Major League Baseball reached a historic, first-ever collective-bargaining agreement (CBA) for minor leaguers. The deal is for five years and doubles minor leaguers' pay at all levels. Passan broke down the pay raises at each level:
The deal is still tentative, but both sides expect to ratify the agreement shortly. The CBA is a landmark deal for minor leaguers. For the last couple of years, minor league players have been fighting for improved conditions for everyone across the league. These efforts were kick-started by groups like Advocates for Minor Leaguers, More Than Baseball and others. This increased pay bump is just another step toward improving minor leaguers' living conditions.
In 2022, we saw one of the first steps to help players. Major League Baseball announced a new housing policy stating that teams must provide more than 90 percent of assigned minor leaguers with furnished housing accommodations at no expense to the players. This change paid dividends for players across the league, and we were able to sit down with a couple of players about what it meant to them last year.
““For me, I didn’t really feel like a professional athlete when I got home after the season and barely had money in my bank account.””
Housing accommodations were quickly followed by MLB settling a class-action lawsuit with minor league players, agreeing to pay them $185 million regarding alleged violations of minimum wage laws. Advocates for Minor Leaguers also recommended to Congress that they create legislation that nullifies the league's antitrust exemption on the minor leagues, which led the Senate Judiciary Committee to ask Major League Baseball and commissioner Rob Manfred to explain the potential impact of making that move.
We've seen more advancement in the treatment of minor leaguers in the last two years than in the previous 50 years. These investments in the people who play this game mean so much to each player. For many, it means stability, less stress and anxiety, and the ability to play more relaxed on the field.
"The pay bump is a huge win for Minor Leaguers," Oakland Athletics pitcher Kumar Nambiar said. "Previous wages made it stressful for players and their families."
Along with removing some of that stress, it also gives many players a sense of normalcy. A sense of normalcy, not just for them but their families as well, that didn't exist before when they lacked stable housing and little pay.
"This bay pump is great because now with the inclusion of provided housing we can actually live normal lives," Miami Marlins first baseman Troy Johnston said. "We are no longer having to make decisions that make us live bare minimum lives where our pay only goes to essentials. We are able to actually live."
Stable housing and pay will also allow the players to focus on becoming better players. It will enable them to focus on their skills and ability on the field and who they are as individuals off the field.
"Minor leaguers will be able to prioritize training instead of worrying about finding ways to make money." Nambiar said. "For me, I didn't really feel like a professional athlete when I got home after the season and barely had money in my bank account."
Next Steps
Although significant steps have been taken to improve the lives of minor leaguers, players feel that there is still more that can be done.
"Next priority would be spring training provided housing, and unilateral health and dental care, not individual based by the organization," Johnston said.
Advocating for these changes will require players to understand how to utilize their voices for change, Nambiar noted. Bringing together collective voices is how additional progress can be made.
"I think the most important thing this year is to make sure that every Minor League player understands what being part of the MLBPA means," Nambiar said. "The Players Association has done incredible things for Major League players and now we get to be part of that fraternity,"
It becomes easy to relate to the minor leaguers' fight as many of the changes Johnston and Nambiar mentioned are things everyday human beings constantly fight for: housing, health care, pay increases, etc. It is why so many can relate to this game, and a prime example of how baseball (for good and bad) represents what all of us go through.
The historic news feels good to the players as they kick off their 2023 season. The groups organizing for minor leaguers that led to the establishment of the MiLBPA have made more progress in the last couple of years than has been made over the previous 50. The new CBA is a massive example of that.
"This group should be extremely proud of what we've accomplished and it's important that the Player Leaders continue to educate our teammates about the new resources we have at our disposal," Nambiar said.