Mets, Phillies minor leaguers protest pay with wristbands

NEW YORK (AP) — Minor league players in the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies farm systems are wearing teal wristbands Saturday to protest pay that they say is insufficient.

At least 10 players from the Brooklyn Cyclones and Jersey Shore BlueClaws wore the wristbands — which feature the hashtag #FairBall — during their High-A game in New York. The demonstration was organized in part by Advocates for Minor Leaguers, which also handed out the wristbands to fans and distributed pamphlets detailing the financial issues faced by players.

“Minor League Baseball players have been severely underpaid and silenced for decades,” players from both teams said in a joint statement released by Advocates for Minor Leaguers to The Associated Press. “Today, we are wearing #FairBall wristbands to show our solidarity with every fan and ally who is working to change that. We love the game of baseball, but it needs to evolve. It is time for every minor leaguer to be paid a living wage.”

High-A players make a minimum of $500 per week and are only paid during the roughly six-month minor league season. While some players get signing bonuses worth hundreds of thousands — even millions — of dollars upon entering pro ball, many sign for as little as $1,000.

The financial burden has prompted players to sleep on sofas, air mattresses or floors in overcrowded apartments, play with tattered equipment, and seek charity from fans and more fortunate teammates.

“The players who donned wristbands in Brooklyn today will make less than $12,000 this year,” Advocates for Minor Leaguers said in a statement to the AP. “The MLB teams they play for are worth well more than $2 billion. There is absolutely no excuse for this. We are proud of these players for standing up for themselves and each other. Their...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Mets-Phillies-minor-leaguers-protest-pay-with-16469990.php