Trending
Does Rob Manfred even like baseball? It's the question I keep coming back to this week after the commissioner of Major League Baseball continued to double down on the idea of eliminating 42 minor league teams.
The straw which broke the back came Thursday when Newsday reporter Laura Albanese reported one of the reasons the commissioner wants to eliminate 25% of this country's affiliated minor league teams is because of the low pay they receive.
Mind you, Major League Baseball reportedly spent more than $2 million lobbying Congress for the passing of the Save America's Pastime Act, which continues to exempt MLB from the Fair Labor Standards Act and does not require them to pay minor leaguers a minimum wage salary. Manfred's proposal to eliminate 42 minor league teams -- which only became public when the information was leaked to Baseball America last month -- is all about making billionaire owners happy. It has nothing to do with improving the game of baseball and growing its fan base, which he continues to claim is the most important part of his job.
Instead, getting rid of 42 opportunities around the country to watch professional baseball is all about saving a buck. Damned will be the families who can't afford the exorbitant prices of attending Major League Baseball games or aren't within feasible driving distance of an MLB franchise. Because what an industry which has recorded record revenues for the last 16 consecutive years needs is more money. And don't let anything Manfred says to the contrary take away from that being his entire premise for this proposal.
Albanese reported Thursday that Manfred said there were four issues which were the reasons 42 minor league teams needed to be cut. According to Albanese, those reasons were:
1. Inadequate facilities.
2. There have been 77 franchises which have moved since 1990, making for travel difficult.
3. Poor pay for minor leaguers.
4. Drafting and signing players who don't have a realistic opportunity to make it to Major League Baseball.
Looking at those reasons laid out by Manfred, the first two are linked. Let's ask ourselves why teams are moving, especially recently. More than ever it's all about finding facilities which are more adequate for the proper development of a franchise's prospects.
Just in the New York-Penn League alone, the Pirates left Jamestown, New York, for Morgantown, West Virginia, in order to play in a brand new facility built in conjunction with West Virginia University. A franchise moved into State College to be able to use Medlar Field at Lubrano Park as its home.
The Philadelphia Phillies moved their AAA franchise from Scranton to Lehigh Valley when Coca-Cola Park was built in Allentown, which far outclassed what had become a rather dilapidated Lackawanna County Stadium. And it wasn't until tens of millions of dollars were sunk into Lackawanna County Stadium for upgrades that another AAA team agreed to relocate.
To act as if franchises aren't seeking out the best possible facilities would just be ignorant. The work done by the Crosscutters and the City of Williamsport to upgrade the facilities at Bowman Field are a prime example of the measures being taken to keep minor league teams in their town across the country. The Crosscutters have benefited from Major League Baseball wanting to play the annual MLB Little League Classic at Bowman Field, but the transformation of the 90-plus year old ballpark hasn't come at zero expense to the city and taxpayers.
But to keep a franchise in the city which has become a fabric of the community, it has become necessary to take these steps to improve both the experience for fans in attendance and the working conditions for the coaches and players. And in turn, the Crosscutters have worked tirelessly and endlessly to give back to the community, donating money to non-profit organizations through its annual Hot Stove Banquet and other charity auctions throughout the season. Minor league teams aren't just entertainment options, they're key cogs in community ecosystem.
Poor pay for minor leaguers is dictated by the billionaire owners who refuse to pay minor leaguers a livable wage. Players for the Williamsport Crosscutters make about $1,100 per month based on minimum standards set forth by Major League Baseball. And that is a sum which comes before taxes are withheld and before the cost of housing players have to pay even when staying with a host family.
The lobbying done by Major League Baseball over the past two seasons got the Save America's Pastime Act tacked on to the back end of a $1.3 trillion spending packet to keep the government running. Only the Toronto Blue Jays have committed to paying their minor league players more than the required minimum salaries, committing this year to a 50% raise at all levels for its players.
And while travel in certain leagues throughout the minors is difficult, that can be changed by simple realignment of the leagues, which is likely to happen at the end of this episode regardless. And frankly, reducing travel not only saves money, but it helps create better working conditions for players and coaches so that they're getting proper rest and proper sleeping conditions and not spending some 10 hours on a bus to go play a three-game series.
So the big question here in Lycoming County is what does this all mean at the end of the day for the Williamsport Crosscutters? The realistic answer is the team isn't going anywhere. The facilities at Bowman Field are well within the standards -- and far beyond -- laid out by the current Professional Baseball Agreement between Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball. Travel in the New York-Penn League is actually pretty easy, minus an occasional trip to Vermont or Lowell, Massachusetts.
If Major League Baseball wants to continue to play the annual Little League Classic at Bowman Field, bringing in two MLB teams a year to play a regular-season game, it's going to want to have a team playing here so the field its has invested multiple millions of dollars in is kept up to standards.
But what the leaking of the proposal to eliminate teams, and Manfred's willingness to double down on the viability of that proposal, has done is create a sense of panic within the community. And there are 41 other communities across the country who are feeling the same panic.
No matter how much you tell the concerned patrons of the Crosscutters not to worry, it's only human to pause with concern. More than 2.6 million people passed through the turnstiles of a New York-Penn League team last year, and the NYPL is one of the leagues which will be hurt most by the proposed eliminations. If those teams go away, where will the 2.6 million people go for their affordable family entertainment in 2021? Does Rob Manfred even care as long as the owners who employ him see an increased bottom line?
It sure seems like he doesn't care. It sure doesn't seem like he's concerned with whether or not baseball survives in small towns. And it sure doesn't seem like he even likes baseball. If he did, why would he spend so much time telling its fans what's wrong with the game instead of exulting all the things which are great, like the experience at a minor league game?
Mitch Rupert covers the Williamsport Crosscutters for the Sun-Gazette. He can be reached at 570-326-1551, ext. 3129, or by email at mrupert@sungazette.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Mitch_Rupert.