Zom Baseball

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1. American Association of Independent Professional Baseball
2. Atlantic League of Professional Baseball
3. Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball
4. Empire Professional Baseball League
5. Frontier League
6. Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs
7. Pecos League
8. Thoroughbred Baseball League
9. United Shore Professional Baseball League

However, there are rumblings that the new 1.3 Trillion dollar budget signed into law last week will not only add unnecessary debt to the United States government, but will also put hundreds of minor league baseball players out of work, demoralizing them and the towns that cheer them on in sometimes very empty stadiums.

Why would a U.S. budget bill kill minor league baseball?

The easy answer… “Minimum Wage.”

Just as in many cases where minimum wages have been hiked, sometimes in an effort to give people a living wage, people lose their jobs and businesses close down. Look at the problems a minimum wage bill had for Seattle.

The same thing could quite possibly happen to baseball teams in small towns like Alpine, TX; Trinidad, CO; Sioux City, IA; and Garden City, KS. (No news on baseball operations in the above cities yet, but still, if you live in these cities, go buy a season ticket and support your local team.)

Our elected officials in the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate were lobbied heavily by Major League Baseball to institute a minimum wage/salary cap for minor league baseball clubs. According to this Associated Press article, MLB spent over $1,300,000 on lobbying congress during 2016-2017. This lobbying could have consequences for independent baseball leagues. These leagues are not run by the MLB as are all affiliated teams in the MiLB.

According to an article at SB Nation, there is a high possibility that independent leagues could die and they are perfectly happy with that.

Independent leagues like the Pacific Association and the Atlantic League are also considered minor league baseball by the law in all its seasonal, short-term employment glory, and therefore, they’ll also be subject to the new law of the land. Unlike players in the MLB-owned and operated Minor League Baseball, who saw a minimal raise from $1,100 per month to $1,160 per month under the bill, many independent-league players are actually looking at massive increases to salary — and it could very well mean the death of most of independent-league baseball in America. And if those independent leagues that can’t pay players a living wage do die off, that’s OK.

That quote sounds like the ramblings of those who pushed for the Seattle minimum wage hike bill. That was a bill that killed jobs and businesses and did relatively little to increase wages for those who were able to keep their entry level positions.

The SB Nation article goes on to talk about the exploitation of players who are often young, and still clinging onto their dreams of playing baseball. They play baseball for 4-5 months of the year. They are paid miserably low wages, wages the article says will have to be increased by 30-40% for some ball clubs. Any MBA or any businessman or businesswoman with common sense will tell you When operating expenses rise by 30-40% for any business, those businesses fail.

What will the government do next? Will they outlaw unpaid or low paying internships for college students? Those do still exist. They help people break into many businesses and help provide them with successful careers. Maybe some baseball players who still dream of hooking up with an MLB organization don’t mind the lower intern-like pay for keeping their dream alive.

Of course, the solution to not losing your local independent minor league baseball team is to go out and support it. Buy an advertisement if you are a business. Buy a season ticket if you’re a fan. For goodness sake, just make a donation if you don’t like the other two options.

As for me, I’ll go to an occasional MLB when I can afford it, but I’m also going to go root for my local independent team… Go Texas Airhogs!