Minor League Baseball

Congress has introduced a bill which aims to make life a lot tougher for Minor League Baseball players.

The Save America’s Pastime Act would amend the Fair Labor Standard Act to make MiLB players not subject to laws that protect hourly-rated employees. Basically, they don’t want Minor League Baseball players to be subjected to the same wage rules as others. MiLB supports the bill.

The legislation is a response to a lawsuit filed nearly two years ago by more than 500 minor league players arguing that the sport doesn’t even pay minimum wage. The suit was filed in hopes of getting minor leaguers paid fairly for their work, including overtime. It’s a just cause.

The new bill argues that the current decades-old system in place is operating properly and that by raising the wages of minor leaguers, MiLB may collapse. It’s also argued cities would league their baseball teams, which would cost jobs and cause a “void in affordable family-friendly entertainment.”

I can see both sides of the argument. Most Minor League Baseball players get paid peanuts in terms of compensation for the countless hours they put in and they have a serious case that they’re putting in unfair hours compared to their wage. On the other hand, MiLB is worried that by raising salaries and wages it would cause a negative domino effect for its leagues.

There’s got to be some sort of way to make both parties happy, but this new bill isn’t it. It’s a crappy and unfair thing to attempt to do. Baseball is still a job and players should at least have the same wage as the minimum legal amount.

About Liam McGuire

Social +Staff writer for The Comeback & Awful Announcing. Liammcguirejournalism@gmail.com