Video Baseball Scout – Benjamin Chase: The current argument that minor leaguers deserve to be paid a livable wage is a simple one. There’s really nothing to argue about, anyone working any job deserves to be paid a wage tantamount with living. There are other factors beyond just money when it comes to minor leaguers deserving to be paid more. The psychological toll that being paid starvation wages takes on players can be immense. If they fail to make the majors and do give up on playing baseball most of these players are left with little in the way of desirable skills for other means of employment. Pay them now, when they need it most, it is that simple.
FanGraphs – Rachael McDaniel: Ichiro Suzuki is not only one of the best baseball players the game has ever seen; he’s also an interesting person. His importance to the game of baseball in Japan, and worldwide, can’t be overstated. His impact on the sport will be long-lasting, his star power will not fade, and it is true that there will never be anyone else quite like Ichiro. He had his doubters, but every day of his pro career he proved them wrong. First in Japan, then in North America; no matter where Ichiro played baseball he was a player worth paying attention to and he managed to rewrite the history books in the process.
Sports Illustrated – Jon Tayler: The owners are on their bullshit yet again. Contract extensions near the end of Spring Training are nothing new, but this year they are coming almost rapid-fire. The reason is clear to anyone with functioning eyeballs: the players have become fearful of the owners’ unwillingness to pay them in free agency. The owners won’t pay players when they are in the minors, they pay them the bare minimum when they are young major leaguers, and now they refuse to pay the players when they are proven veterans. The owners are working together to do this, their bullshit just happens to be called collusion.
Lead photo courtesy of Alex Trautwig – Getty Images
