Rob Manfred Hits a New Low When It Comes To Saying Something Stupid
There are three certainties in this world. Death, taxes, and Rob Manfred saying something stupid. It was a near-daily occurrence in the off-season while the MLB was negotiating a new CBA. He called the World Series Trophy a ‘piece of metal’. Manfred was all smiles on the day they announced games would be canceled. And now, he has made headlines again. He recently had this to say when asked why Minor League Baseball Players do not get paid a living wage.
“Look, I kind of reject the premise of the question that minor league players are not paid a living wage. I think that we’ve made real strides in the last three years in terms of what minor league players are paid. Even putting to one side the signing bonuses that many of them have already received. They received housing, which obviously is another form of compensation. So, you know, I just reject the question. I don’t know what else to say.”
What an absolute jerk. Players literally have to get second jobs to meet ends meet. They only recently were provided lodging, and he thinks that’s something to brag about. There are minor league players who earn as little as $4800 a year. The minimum salary in the MiLB is $32K lower than the minimum in the G League, and $38k lower than the minimum in the AHL.
Minor League players share stories of going to bed hungry. In fact, many of them took to Twitter to share how much they made in the past year after Manfred’s insensitive comments.
I made $11,000 last year https://t.co/dBqqY5ekbR
— Eric Cole (@criceole8) July 19, 2022
I made less than $12,000 last year which is in fact not a livable wage 🤡 https://t.co/dBb4c1V6Ly
— Aiden McIntyre (@A_McIntyre50) July 20, 2022
Manfred thinks we are stupid. He thinks we can’t easily look up these numbers to see how full of it he is. The MLB is a billion-dollar industry. Its profits increase every year. There is absolutely no reason every single player in the minors shouldn’t be getting a living wage. The League relies on a functioning minor league system. They need players filling out these rosters, so the guys on an MLB track have a place to develop. Rob Manfred and the owners need to stop being cheap, open up their very deep pockets, and share some of the wealth with these guys who are vital to the league functioning.
Or, if Manfred genuinely believes $11k a year is a living wage, maybe he should take a pay cut to that number, and we can spread the rest of his $17 million salary among all the minor leaguers. Give him a small apartment to live in too, because as he says, that counts as compensation. It’s embarrassing a league so profitable treats its employees this way. But embarrassing and Rob Manfred go together well. He is the worst commissioner of a Pro Sports League in my lifetime. And that is saying something. The MLB owes these players better. Paying a living wage, should be the bare minimum expectations.
