In order to resolve a class-action lawsuit that was filed by thousands of current and former minor league players about prior compensation claims, Major League Baseball has agreed to pay $185 million to settle the case.
The agreement, which was filed on Friday in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, is the most recent step in a general reorganisation of minor league baseball. This general reorganisation included the takeover of the minor league system by the 30 major league clubs, as well as the contraction and reorganisation of the teams and leagues. Now Minor League Baseball will have to come up with a new method to compensate the players in the lower leagues.
According to the text in the settlement, the class consists of around 23,000 participants, and the average payment will be just about $5,000 to $5,500 per player. This is despite the fact that the class will get compensation. It is not exactly a bonanza for the players individually, but the actual importance of the deal may lie in how minor league players are rewarded in the future, which is something that is up to Major League Baseball.
According to the terms of the proposed agreement, which the presiding judge in the case must still decide whether or not to accept, Major League Baseball is required to formally notify all clubs that they can no longer prohibit teams from paying players during spring training, extended spring training, or any other work period that is not during the championship season, which consists of the regular season and the playoffs. This is one of the conditions that must be met for the judge to approve the agreement.
In the past, players were not compensated for any time spent outside of the championship season. This included time spent training out during the off-season. Furthermore, after all of their time was taken into account, players’ salary was often less than the minimum wage. The Big League Baseball maintained that the players were in a comparable position to apprentices in other fields, such as the arts, music, and theatre, in that they were only momentarily aiming to break into the major leagues, where they would be payed generously. According to numbers provided by Major League Baseball, the typical amount of time spent in the minor leagues was around two and a half years; as a result, working in the minor leagues is not a viable alternative for permanent employment.
Broshuis, who is not a member of the class of players, played in the lower leagues for a total of six years and clearly remembers the challenges that he faced during that time. He recalled witnessing eight of his colleagues from Latin America crammed into a three-bedroom apartment with nothing but air mattresses as their sole furnishings.
Because players in the minor leagues are not represented by the Major League Baseball Players Association or any other union, and there is no bargaining unit with which to negotiate, the Major League Baseball will now work on a new system of compensation without consulting any other parties. It will do so on a unilateral basis. The settlement may help guarantee that there is not a return to the unfairness of the past, but the precise manner in which the position of minor league players will progress might be quite problematic, particularly considering the fact that clubs play in a number of different states.
These include financial aid for college tuition and food in addition to the $450 million in yearly signing bonuses that are given to first-year players. As a result of the lesser leagues being combined into one, there are now fewer players who need to be paid. The cost of the settlement is around $6.2 million for each team in the major leagues. According to the statement, “We are glad that we were able to come to a conclusion,” but the company is unable to comment on the specifics of the deal until the agreement is officially confirmed by the court.
