Major League Baseball, a collective of leeches, has released a statement in response to the growing controversy over legislation that would bar minor league baseball players from federal fair labor protection. Recently, one of the sponsors of the bill, Illinois congresswoman Cheri Bustos, pulled her support due to the overwhelming criticism from reasonable people everywhere. MLB, however, is holding firm and released a statement today explaining why. It is extraordinary."There are approximately 7,500 players in Minor League Baseball. MLB pays over a half a billion dollars to Minor League players in signing bonuses and salary each year. Minor League clubs could not afford these massive player costs. MLB heavily subsidizes Minor League Baseball by providing Minor League Baseball with its players, allowing professional baseball to be played in many communities in the United States that cannot support a Major League franchise. Moreover, for the overwhelming majority of individuals, being a Minor League Baseball player is not a career but a short-term seasonal apprenticeship in which the player either advances to the Major Leagues or pursues another career."That last sentence is one of the more remarkable ones I've ever read. MLB is advancing the argument that since they only take the good players, the rest can get bent and not get paid, all the while "allowing professional baseball"—you know, the product MLB sells—"to be played in many communities … that cannot support a Major League franchise." What MLB baseball is saying here is that it wants the widest possible net to find and develop talent, cut the wheat from the chaff, and never pay for it. So, the best and most efficient way to do that is to pay those "short-term seasonal apprentice[s]" sub-minimum-wage salaries across the country, including areas they otherwise would not be able to tap into because the market could not support it.Major League Baseball earned revenues totaling more than $9 billion last year.MLB has release a new press release about the "Save America's Pastime" bill. pic.twitter.com/bimjJmAjWb
— JJ Cooper (@jjcoop36) June 30, 2016