MLB owners unanimously ratify minor league CBA
-
Jeff PassanESPN
Major League Baseball owners voted unanimously to ratify the new collective bargaining agreement with minor league players, formalizing the landmark agreement that will more than double player salaries.
Players late last week overwhelmingly voted in favor of the tentative agreement, with thousands backing a deal that also improved housing, transportation and medical rights of players.
The agreement, which will last five years, came together after the MLB Players Association created a minor league bargaining unit last year. Upon the league’s formal recognition of the union, the parties began negotiating, and the final deal came together Wednesday, two days before the minor league season began.
Years of public criticisms from players led to their organization and eventual unionization, and over the past three years, the league’s treatment of them has improved significantly. Salary increases were the clear priority for minor league players, whose incomes will jump depending on the level at which they play, with the largest increases by percentage at the lower levels and total dollars at the higher ones. By level, the increases are:
-
Triple-A: $17,500 to $35,800
-
Double-A: $13,800 to $30,250
-
High-A: $11,000 to $27,300
-
Single-A: $11,000 to $26,200
-
Rookie: $4,800 to $19,800
Players now will be paid nearly year-round, receiving $625 a week during spring training and at least $250 a week for most of the offseason — all of which are part of the annual salary figures. The new housing-and-transportation policies, which includes improvements across all levels — Triple-A and Double-A players are guaranteed their own rooms, and High-A, Single-A and rookie teams are guaranteed transportation to and from stadiums — addressed issues players brought up during negotiations.
In a statement, the league said: “When minor league players formally declared their intention to unionize last September, MLB opted to immediately and voluntarily recognize the players’ rights to unionize and began negotiations on a first collective-bargaining agreement. Meeting throughout the offseason, we made tremendous progress over a short period of time and are pleased to have reached a five-year agreement with the players. This agreement builds upon the significant effort MLB undertook four years ago to modernize baseball’s player development system, including increased salaries, free housing, improved facilities, better clubhouse conditions, and reduced in-season travel with better geographical alignment. We look forward to a great season.”
Upon the players’ ratification of the agreement, MLBPA executive director Tony Clark said in a statement: “The agreement represents a giant step forward in treating minor league players as the elite professional athletes that they are. It’s a historic day for these players, their families and the entire player fraternity.”
- Terms of Use
- Privacy Policy
- Your US State Privacy Rights
- Children’s Online Privacy Policy
- Interest-Based Ads
- About Nielsen Measurement
- Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
- Contact Us
- Disney Ad Sales Site
- Work for ESPN
Copyright: ® ESPN Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved.
It’s August and no games have been played, but that’s not keeping ESPN’s college football reporters from predicting the 12 schools that will make up the College Football Playoff beginning in December.
Ohio State won the inaugural 12-team bracket last season, despite starting as the No. 8 seed, demonstrating that the playoff truly gives new life to any team that gains entry.
There’s a slight alteration to the format this year. The tournament will still comprise the top five conference champions and seven at-large schools. But the top four seeds — and the first-round bye that comes with each of those seeds — will no longer go to the four highest-ranked conference champions (last season that was Oregon, Georgia, Boise State and Arizona State). This season the committee has moved to a straight seeding model, so the four highest-ranked schools in the committee’s final top 12 will get the top four seeds.
Ahead of Week 0, here are the slates our reporters picked. Let the chase begin:
Andrea Adelson: 1. Clemson 2. Penn State 3. Texas 4. LSU 5. Georgia 6. Ohio State 7. Notre Dame 8. Miami 9. Alabama 10. Iowa State 11. Nebraska 12. Boise State
Kyle Bonagura: 1. Texas 2. Penn State 3. Ohio State 4. Clemson 5. Georgia 6. Notre Dame 7. Alabama 8. Oregon 9. LSU 10. Arizona State 11. Miami 12. Boise State
Bill Connelly: 1. Penn State 2. Alabama 3. Texas 4. Ohio State 5. Georgia 6. Notre Dame 7. Texas A&M 8. Clemson 9. Oregon 10. Boise State 11. Miami 12. Kansas State
Heather Dinich: 1. Penn State, 2. Clemson, 3. Texas 4. LSU 5. Georgia 6. Ohio State 7. Notre Dame 8. Alabama 9. Miami 10. Oregon 11. Kansas State 12. Boise State
David Hale: 1. Ohio State 2. Texas 3. Clemson 4. Penn State 5. Notre Dame 6. Georgia 7. Oregon 8. LSU 9. Texas A&M 10. Kansas State 11. Miami 12. Toledo
Eli Lederman: 1. Penn State 2. Texas 3. Clemson 4. Ohio State 5. Notre Dame 6. Alabama 7. Oregon 8. Georgia 9. Arizona State 10. LSU 11. Miami 12. Boise State
Max Olson: 1. Texas. 2. Penn State. 3. Notre Dame. 4. Clemson. 5. Alabama. 6. Oregon. 7. Georgia. 8. Ohio State. 9. Texas Tech. 10. LSU. 11. Utah. 12. Boise State
Adam Rittenberg: 1. Texas 2. Penn State 3. Clemson 4. Georgia 5. Alabama 6. Ohio State 7. Notre Dame 8. Oregon 9. Miami 10. Iowa State 11. Boise State 12. Illinois
Mark Schlabach: 1. Texas 2. Clemson 3. Penn State 4. Georgia 5. Ohio State 6. Alabama 7. Notre Dame 8. Oregon 9. Miami 10. LSU 11. Arizona State 12. Boise State
Jake Trotter: 1. Texas, 2. Clemson, 3. Penn State, 4. LSU, 5. Ohio State, 6. Notre Dame, 7. Georgia, 8. Oregon, 9. Illinois, 10. South Carolina, 11. Texas Tech, 12. Tulane
Paolo Uggetti: 1. Ohio State, 2. Georgia, 3. Texas 4. Penn State 5. Notre Dame 6. Clemson 7. Oregon 8. LSU 9. Arizona State 10. Miami 11. South Carolina 12. Boise State
Dave Wilson: 1. Texas 2. Penn State 3. Clemson 4. Ohio State 5. Georgia 6. Notre Dame 7. Alabama 8. Oregon 9. LSU 10. Arizona State 11. Miami 12. Boise State
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment3 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike