In an effort to show that it can make a World Series with record-low (or near-record-low) ratings plus a potential cheating scandal (at least it was the team that lost the World Series) not look so bad, Major League Baseball has decided to kill 42 minor league teams, out of 162 total (i.e., over 25% of minor team baseball teams). All in an effort to save $20 million a year. In other words, MLB as a whole would save less money per year than the Philadelphia Phillies are paying Bryce Harper.
Rob Manfred, head of MLB (and apparent head executioner of MiLB), said that the minor leagues had expanded in ways that
“produce[d] travel that is not acceptable for professional players. Bus rides, long, six, eight, 10 hours and trust me, in a lot of cases, it's not on a luxury cruise liner, it's on a school bus.”
A couple of thoughts. First, if the bus rides are too long, the proper approach is to work with MiLB to fix things, not just “whack ‘em up alongside the head.” Second, if the concern is that minor league teams are using school buses, here’s an idea: have MLB teams buy their affiliates a good bus. What would that cost? $200,000 for each minor league team? The total cost for all the major league teams together, not even taking into account the tax write-offs, etc., wouldn’t be that much more than the Cubs paid Brandon Morrow to pitch 30.2 innings over two years.
I remember about 20-25 years ago asking at a Cubs Convention panel how much the teams gave their minor leagues for meal money each day. It was $20, and when I asked, in effect, why it was so little, the answer was that $20 was what MLB prescribed. Which is baloney (and which is also what the kids were probably forced to eat).
MLB has long treated its minor league players like serfs, paying them a pittance because they can get away with it. It looks like it is going to do the same to minor league teams, too. I’ve got an idea for MLB. Instead of some silly PR idea of selecting an All-MLB All-Star team, how about treating minor league players and teams a little better. That would be publicity for doing something good.
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