Some Quick Questions about Minor League Affiliations

[traderumor]

M2 had mentioned something in passing about the idea of "career minor leaguers," that got me thinking. Feel free to correct me on what you were getting at, M2, but it seemed like your premise was that some consideration should be given to allowing teams to give merit pay for guys who are solid performers and contributors to the organization, although they may not have the talent necessary to crack the bigs and stick, rather than just cutting them loose "to get on with life" or become an instructor in the org.

So, the questions have to do with how finances are handled between minor league affiliates and big league clubs. First, are the affiliates separate enterprises with separate finances from the big league club, or are they funded by the big league club, or somewhere in between? What determines who gets paid what? Is it a flat rate for everyone with the signing bonus variable?

[dougdirt]

From what I understand, the Teams themselves are owned be people that are not the Reds. They however own the team name, stadium and all that good stuff. However, they do not have any control over the players. They dont pay the players nor do they have any rights tot he players. As for what a player gets paid, it is based on league you are with, your signing bonus I believe you get up front, hence the bonus for signing. I also believe players on the 40 man roster make more as well, but that could be wrong. I am sure someone has a better idea of how things work that I do, but that is how it was explained to me once upon a time.

[traderumor]

Doug, that's about as far as I know as well. I'm hoping someone knows some details on these matters to save me research time

[M2]

doug's got the way the finances work pretty well scoped out there.

Given the recent financial boom in the minors (I know I'm not paying Fenway Park prices to take my family to a game), I think it's become practical to designate a few organizational guys in the minors and pay them a bit extra.

The base salary in AA is $1,500 per month and in AAA it's $$2,150. A player in the minors can make $52,600 if he's on the 40-man roster and has at least one day of major league service time. Yet that doesn't cover guys like Steve Kelly and Jesse Gutierrez, who aren't on the 40-man roster. So, despite them being dependable minor league performers, they're probably making somewhere under $20,000 a year in the game of baseball. Get into your late 20s with a family and that's a tough row to hoe.

Imagine if those guys could earn $40,000 (non-guaranteed) and become cornerstones for a minor league outfit? They'd be eligible for September callups or promotion to the majors, but while they were in the minors, they'd play for a single affiliate like Chattanooga or Louisville. IMO, it would help minor league franchises connect better with their fan base having a few key players around whom the club gets constructed. It also might improve the level of play in the upper minors.

As a guy like Steve Kelly develops veteran guile, he'd be a stern test for prospect bats trying to get ready for the majors. Likewise, Jesse Gutierrez is a professional hitter. He's not a major league quality professional hitter, but he's a great adversary for a prospect pitcher. What you need to do to attack Gutierrez is what you'll need to do to attack MLB hitters with slightly quicker reflexes.

Aside from all of that, I'd like to see the little guy get a leg up in a business swimming in money.

[KittyDuran]

M2, do you know the base salary for "A" ball (both low and advanced)? Which leads me to quote you...

Aside from all of that, I'd like to see the little guy get a leg up in a business swimming in money.

Dayton pretty much sells out every game - that's 8,000+ fans per home game. The two games I went to the past weekend... Saturday's game was 8,928 (which was a season high) and yesterday's game was 8,614. That's on top of the concession business - most minor league parks you cannot bring in food or drink. Not sure if the Dragons profit from the parking around the ballpark - probably not.

One year the Dragons went to the playoffs (2001) a broohaha was made of the fact that some of the players stayed and slept in the clubhouse because they didn't want to pay for a month's rent in September. The playoffs are in the first week. Many fans wrote the DDN and said that the Dragons make so much money off these players that they should spring for hotel rooms just for the playoffs to give them a break. Some fans even said that the players could stay at their homes.

[M2]

M2, do you know the base salary for "A" ball (both low and advanced)? Which leads me to quote you...

$1,050/month for either level of full-season A-ball. Mind you, all these are 2005 figures, so it's probably gone up a small bit.

[traderumor]

M2,

Great innovative idea, and that was the trigger to my question---who is getting the dough from the recent gold mine that is minor league baseball? If the Major League team is funding more than operating expenses like player salaries, coaching staffs, travel, training, medical and equipment expenses, then a minor league affiliate is likely to be a money loser. However, I am assuming that some of the revenue is funneled to the major league franchise (franchise fees, percent of the gate?) to help fund those costs, though.

[M2]

M2,

Great innovative idea, and that was the trigger to my question---who is getting the dough from the recent gold mine that is minor league baseball? If the Major League team is funding more than operating expenses like player salaries, coaching staffs, travel, training, medical and equipment expenses, then a minor league affiliate is likely to be a money loser. However, I am assuming that some of the revenue is funneled to the major league franchise (franchise fees, percent of the gate?) to help fund those costs, though.

My guess is both major and minor league owners are making a healthy dollar off this golden goose.