By Jeff
While we are all looking forward to the Christmas season, many Major League Baseball players see this part of the year as very stressful. It may sound crazy to feel sorry for someone whose minimum salary is $400,000 and the average MLB salary is over $2 million a year, but it is a terribly stressful time for almost half of the League’s players and many whom are trying to make a team.
This is due to the winter meetings where players are shuffled from team to team like cattle and are offered contracts (some guaranteed, most of which are not) from various teams in cities as diverse as New York to Los Angeles to Tampa to Seattle.
Imagine every year not knowing if you are going to work in the city you worked in last year and having no say in that decision. Picture being 24, married with two kids, and not knowing if you are going to make one of those coveted spots on a major league team (and making at least $400,000) or ending up in Dubuque, Iowa making $20,000 for the summer hoping to get called up.
There are only 800 spots on major league rosters. Envision the 801st best lawyer or doctor in the country. I assume he can work anywhere he wants and can make much more than $20,000 per year.
We all know the Arod’s and Derek Jeter’s of MLB and what a great life they have. For every one of those there are hundreds dreading the next few weeks as someone other than themselves control their lives as well as their family’s lives.
So I say that we consider the 801st player trying to make a team when we give our Season’s Prayers. Let’s hope he gets a spot on a roster on a MLB team.
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4 Responses to Major League Players: Stressful Holidays
Jeff,
That’s a really interesting perspective. I’m here cursing my team because of this potential Cliff Lee trade (along with some of our top prospects). I never looked at it from the players perspective.
Yeah that has to be pretty stressful and unsettling. Especially if they get traded to a city that they don’t want to live in. That and they travel SO much for 6 months of the year. Crazy.
At first I was skeptical -but you had me by the 3rd paragraph. That does sound awfully stressful for the players and families. “Rookies” are introduced all the time so it makes sense that others are constantly losing their spot. I had no idea there were only 800 players, such a small number. It especially stinks that it happens at this time of year. . . .
Hey,
What is so bad about ending up in Dubuque, Iowa? Great city and a great place to live!
This does have to be quite a stressful life for those players that are not in the elite group of the top several hundred players. I know those in the minor leagues also get bounced around a lot and make no money. They must have a real love for the game.
Pam, I think you are right – they must have a real love for the game and a belief that they may someday make it.
While we are saying prayers for the less than elite players, let’s also remember their wives who are often tasked with organizing the move from city to city. They are the unsung heros allowing their spouses to do what they truly love for a living.
On a similar note, I am reminded of a TV drama that must have been on 20+ years ago. I think it lasted for less than a full season. It followed the travails of a minor league team (Double AA?) and was a great show….