Flannery on Bochy-Last Night

[klaiggeb]

ON the pregame show, Flannery was talking about the day he got fired.

He said that, at the time, he thought HE WAS THE BEST 3RD BASE COACH in the game.

The first day back to work after his firing, Bochy addressed the team and said: "YOU got my friend fired!"

Implying it was their crappy play.

Bochy should do the same thing to the team for Bobby E. Being canned.

Not that he was Bochy's friend, but THEIR crappy play for 2 consecutive years, led to Bobby's ouster.

The players NEED to hear that.

They do!

But of course, they are never accountable, and ALWAYS want more money.

[rog]

But of course, they are never accountable, and ALWAYS want more money.


Rog -- Let's see.

Ballplayers are never accountable. No matter how badly they perform, they never lose their jobs.

Ballplayers always want more money. Then again, who doesn't?




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[klaiggeb]

If they were held accountable, they'd get pay cuts.

But they never do.

Even after a crappy season, they EXPECT/DEMAND a raise.

Often much, MUCH more than the normal 3%-6% that business people get.

That's what I'm talking about, Roger, and THAT is horse crap!

[sfgdood]

Why the hell are EXCUSING Evans' horrible work as GM?

[sfgdood]

The accountability for ballplayers comes when their contracts run out.

[rog]

Major League Baseball players are at the top of their field. A high percentage of American men and men form many other countries would like to have their jobs, so the competition is fierce.

Just to be drafted by a major league team is an impressive accomplishment which none of -- and almost all of everyone else -- couldn't accomplish.

So the drafted player is paid peanuts and lives in bad and crowded living conditions so he can travel all over by bus. The team that drafted him can control him for up to 12 years, and most careers don't last anywhere near that long. If his team handles him so that he can indeed be controlled for 12 years, the first nine of those they can pay him whatever they wish. In the minors that's REALLY low pay -- below minimum wage if one counts the hours involved.

The first three years a player is in the majors, his team can pay him whatever they want, as long as it the minimum. That minimum would be high for most of us, but for a leader in his field, it's not much at all.

The final three years of team control, the player is eligible for arbitration, where he doesn't make anything close to what he would make if every team could bid on him. Once his up-to-12 years of servitude are up, he can do what we here can do -- sell his services to the highest bidder.

Oh, I forgot that along the way he can be traded at any time, which can break up the family or require the kids to move to a new town and go to a new school.

So we look at ball players and we're simply jealous. We don't think about the long bus rides and hoping to have enough money to eat at McDonalds. We don't think about the likelihood that one's career will be over in a year or two. We don't think about the likelihood of injury, which in rare instances can even include death.

What we think of is the small percentage who are successful enough to be able to sell their services on the open market and if they're good enough, make tens of millions of dollars. These guys are playing a game we would love to play and more money than most of us will ever make.

Not surprisingly given human nature, we're simply jealous. We forget almost entirely that a man should be free to earn as much as the highest bidder will pay for his services. We forget almost entirely that unlike us, for a long, long time players are tied to just one employer -- unless of course the employer thinks it can save money or improve his business by trading the player to another town.

I'm not saying that we should fell sorry for the players (although it probably would be appropriate to feel sorry for the vast majority who just can't cut it or become injured long before they are close to the big bucks). What I'm saying is let the free economy apply at least after a dozen years of servitude and don't complain about what the employers are paying their employees on the free market.

If we are truly outraged, we can stop watching MLB and stop buying its apparel. If we wish to do so, we can protest by keeping our money.

But let's rise above our jealousy.

[klaiggeb]

--So the drafted player is paid peanuts and lives in bad and crowded living conditions so he can travel all over by bus. The team that drafted him can control him for up to 12 years, and most careers don't last anywhere near that long. If his team handles him so that he can indeed be controlled for 12 years, the first nine of those they can pay him whatever they wish. In the minors that's REALLY low pay -- below minimum wage if one counts the hours involved.

The first three years a player is in the majors, his team can pay him whatever they want, as long as it the minimum. That minimum would be high for most of us, but for a leader in his field, it's not much at all.

***boly says***

Roger, you've GOT TO BE KIDDING!!!

That's your argument?

It's terrible, flawed, and downright mis leading!

All beginning professions pay poorly in comparison to what long time employees make.

But here are 3 examples:


1-Log on to ANY school district and see what 1st year teachers are paid.

Peanuts!

How much are teachers "paid" when they are learning their craft in Credential School, or Student teaching?

Nada.

Zip!

Now look at that same schedule for teachers at the 10, 15, and 20 year levels.

Wow! What a difference!



2-Now go to ANY major company and look at their salary structure.

1st year employees get peanuts, work the crap jobs and have to work their way up.



3-Now look at the legal profession.

How much do prospective lawyers make while in law school? More or less the equivalent of the "minor leagues" learning their craft?

Zip!

Nada!

What do 1st year lawyers make?

You guessed it, Nada compared to what long time members of the firm make.

How many college students put themselves through school?

A ton!

And they get NADA while learning their craft!


I've heard that lame assed argument so many times I'm beside myself!


It's the same EVERYWHERE! Not just professional athletes.

Horse poopy!

[rog]

1-Log on to ANY school district and see what 1st year teachers are paid.

Peanuts!


Rog -- They're paid far better than first-year ball players, although some players get bonuses that help out. You would be shocked though how little minor leaguers are paid -- and they're paid only when they play or are in spring training. And MLB went to court so the players wouldn't get any overtime.

Of course teachers don't get any either. They're salaried employees. The players in the low minors are paid so little it's hard to argue they're on a salary.

[rog]

How much are teachers "paid" when they are learning their craft in Credential School, or Student teaching?

Nada.


Rog -- Which is the same amount ball players are paid when they're in school. My daughter is a teacher, and I believe she considered her student teaching to simply be a part of her education.

[rog]

Now go to ANY major company and look at their salary structure.

1st year employees get peanuts, work the crap jobs and have to work their way up.


Rog -- Sometimes that's true, and sometimes it isn't. I made a decent salary when I came out of school. My son did quite well himself. My daughter is a teacher, which is rhetorical.

Anyway, both my son and I had good jobs right out of the gate. Maybe we were lucky, but while my daughter makes little money as a teacher and can barely afford to live in Silicon Valley, she knows plenty of people who made nice salaries out of college.

Players in the low minors with families live in poverty. Single guys in the minors are below the poverty line as well.




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[rog]

How much do prospective lawyers make while in law school?


Rog -- They're in SCHOOL. How much do college players make in school? Law students can sometimes get decent gigs during the summer.

But they're in SCHOOL. I didn't get paid while I was in school, and I don't know those who did.





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[rog]

It's the same EVERYWHERE! Not just professional athletes.

Horse poopy!


Rog -- Given their hours, I don't think ball players make even minimum wage. I looked it up. Players in the low minors make $1300 a month. That IS below minimum wage.

By the way, how much do you think the best actors make? That's kind of the category major league players are in.


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[klaiggeb]

Roger, with all due respect, you're misguided.

You're trying to make an argument to fit what you want it to say.

Players in the low minors, for example, also get meal money AND have team provided insurance.

That isn't factored in.

[Islandboagie]

Also what isn't often considered is the fact the more notable prospects get large signing bonuses. More than enough for a kid in his late teens/early 20s to live very comfortably for quite a while. The ones that aren't top draftees are taking a chance on beating the odds.

[rog]

Players in the low minors, for example, also get meal money AND have team provided insurance.

That isn't factored in.


Rog -- Team-provided insurance is good. Ball players are more at risk of injury than most other professions.

As for the meal money, my understanding is that they are given so little they pretty much eat at McDonalds. That gets them fed, but it's not quite the nutrition a player should be eating.

In some places such as San Jose, there are host families for players, which helps out with rent and food.

Players do receive health insurance, with some coverage for their dependents, and they are pension-eligible after one year in the minors. But check this out:


In an USA Today article, on the topic of salary in the minor league level, Sports Law expert Michael McCann said,

“Most earn between $3,000 and $7,500 for a five-month season. As a point of comparison, fast food workers typically earn between $15,000 and $18,000 a year, or about two or three times what minor league players make. Some minor leaguers, particularly those with families, hold other jobs during the offseason and occasionally during the season. While the minimum salary in Major League Baseball is $500,000, many minor league players earn less than the federal poverty level, which is $11,490 for a single person and $23,550 for a family of four….”

Under the FAQ section of the MiLB.com page, it clearly states that the salary of first-year contracts in the minors are a maximum of $1,100, with salaries differentiating for foreign brought players. Players are also given $25 on road trips for meals.





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