Late last week, I listened to a podcast on the state of MLB and MiLB from Baseball America’s Kyle Glazer and JJ Cooper. Baseball America has some of the best baseball journalists anywhere, and I have not yet found any baseball journalist who is more up on the subject of the state of MLB and MiLB than JJ Cooper. I try to read everything he publishes.
The National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues (NAPBL), which trademarked itself as Minor League Baseball (MiLB) in the 1990s, was founded in 1903. NAPBL was the governing body directing minor league baseball operations. MiLB has always been independent of MLB, which has provided players and coaches to minor league teams through affiliation agreements. Under this arrangement, MLB teams pay the costs of the players and coaches, and minor league teams handle the business of operating games and providing facilities.
As it happens, after decades, that contractual system of Professional Baseball Agreements (PBA) between MLB and MiLB came to an end on September 30, 2020, when MLB declared they would be taking over the management of MiLB.
Under the proposed system, MLB would take over governance and all aspects of the day-to-day operations of the minor leagues. The current PBA system would be replaced by one in which MLB operates the minors. MLB would deal with individual minor league owners on a franchisor-franchisee system, similar to how many hotel and restaurant chains operate.
MLB is dictating policy changes that MiLB owners need to comply with or move on. With an antitrust exemption that protects it from allegations of anti-competitive behavior, as one minor league owner explained before an Aug. 27 negotiation session: “This isn’t a negotiation. It’s the terms of surrender.”
What is the next step?
The two sides need to design and agree on the economics of a new development system. These discussions are considered a Best Alternative Negotiated Agreement (BATNA). MLB will have their BATNA and the MiLB owners will have their BATNA. MLB has already laid out a system in which it would run the minor leagues at a guaranteed lower cost to minor league teams. Where have I heard that empty promise before? MLB is also promising the expectation of higher revenues for minor league clubs. Words have meanings. You might be able to promise an expectation, but that expectation is not a promise.
●Under prior PBAs there was a Ticket Tax system whereby an 8% tax on ticket sales was allocated to MLB and a .5% tax on ticket sales went to the NAPBL offices in St. Pete. Under the new proposal the tax will not change, but since there will no longer be a separated MiLB governing office, the full 8.5% will be allocated to MLB. What will go away will be the per-level fees paid to MiLB’s national office as well as assessments and shared expenses. That is how MLB is “promising” lower costs. But there is another side that we will get to.
●There will be some sponsorship/broadcasting/licensing/digital rights changes granted to MLB on a national basis. The MiLB club will still retain those rights locally. The revenues generated via MLB will be split 50/50 with minor league clubs.
●MLB would be responsible for handling scheduling, umpire assignments and development, league governance, dispute resolution and the many other day-to-day tasks that MiLB and individual league offices previously provided.
●MLB’s proposal does include a minor league executive council which would have representatives from MLB as well as minor league owners. The executive council would have significant power to drive rules changes for the minors, but it would be in an advisory role. It would make recommendations for adoption by the MLB commissioner’s office, but the commissioner’s office would have final decision-making authority. We now know that the executive from the Commissioner’s office will be 44 year old Ivy League educated (Harvard) Peter Woodfork. At least Woodfork did play baseball at Harvard. Woodfork will report to MLB executive vice president Morgan Sword in the baseball economics and operations department. Woodfork will oversee the player development system, including licensed affiliates, partner leagues and club player development departments. He will have responsibility for governance, scheduling, umpiring, license compliance and administration of affiliated teams.
●No on to how those operational savings will be spent. MLB will dictate that the quality of travel and hotel accommodations must be enhanced. This is a plus for the players, but the cost will be borne entirely by the MiLB affiliated licensee, and it will get costly.
●Also under the new plan, each of the minor league facilities will need to meet updated and upgraded standards. It is still under negotiation as to who pays for those facility enhancements. Lighting, HVAC, trainer rooms, clubhouse, pitching & hitting tunnels…will all need to meet more stringent standards, and that will cost. Again this is good for the players, but at what cost, and who pays? Under the new MLB proposed plan, capital improvements at MiLB parks paid for by MLB teams would be permitted. MLB clubs also could become minority investors in teams. Those two aspects could be linked, as it is conceivable that MLB teams would in some cases fund facility improvements (which benefit the MLB club’s minor leaguers and allow the minor league club to be in compliance with facility standards) and in return receive an equity share in the minor league team. But if the MLB team does not want to pay for the required upgrades, and the MiLB owner cannot afford the costs, they will not be granted a license, and they will be out of the affiliated system.
●License agreements would replace current affiliation agreements, which have led to affiliation swaps every two years. The licenses would run for a maximum of 10 years which is shorter than the 15-20 years the MiLB owners wanted. The licenses could run shorter depending on the required facility upgrades. MLB’s proposal would have terms as long as 10 years for many teams, but for other clubs, the terms would be shorter with automatic renewals to lengthen the term if certain upgrade requirements are met.
●The maximum 10-year term is a concern for many MiLB owners, who note it would be difficult to get municipal help on funding stadium upgrades without longer terms that stretch closer to the length of municipal bond terms. Such an issue could likely be resolved by simply allowing MLB teams to waive their rights to opt-out until 20 years or longer has passed. If MLB parent teams do not want to pay for the upgrades, the MiLB owners need the municipalities to assist with the cost of the upgrades.
●Just like MLB, MiLB affiliates are value driven and not operationally driven. Under the proposed plan, if the licensee is in compliance and loses its affiliation at the end of a license agreement, that MiLB owner will receive a guaranteed buyout. The new affiliate will be required to pay compensation as part of their license agreement.
●While it is not cast in stone, the overall consensus is that the decision is to create a Minor League Baseball Program consisting of 120 teams and one team owned complex rookie league team. This 120 affiliated teams will consist of:
- AAA – 30 teams (Dodgers currently OKC – Pacific Coast League)
- AA – 30 teams (Dodgers currently Tulsa – Texas League)
- A+ – 30 teams (Dodgers currently Rancho Cucamonga – California League)
- A (full) – 30 teams (Dodgers currently Great Lakes – Midwest League)
The Dodgers would have their complex rookie league team play in the Arizona League.
●It is almost an absolute that all MLB teams will have a cap on MiLB players at 150.
●JJ Cooper believes that the framework of a final agreement can (and should) be made this month. The 120 affiliates need to be identified and licensed ASAP so that schedules can be drawn, and teams can sell tickets and sponsorships. With reduced 2020 revenues at the MLB level, and projected reduced revenues for 2021, there will be less financial support coming to MiLB teams from MLB owners.
●MLB will not compensate non-affiliated MiLB club’s for the players/coaches compensation if they are not part of the proposed 120 affiliates. If the owners want to compensate minor league clubs not part of the 120 affiliates they are free to set up a system. Do not see this happening.
Now the question as to why has it taken so long to get an agreement. Cooper surmises that they had to wait for the election. It had nothing to do with the Presidency, but more to do with local municipalities and to where the candidates fell on the subject of their local MiLB team. The local legislators may not have wanted to chime in on their views of local MiLB ownership and whether those municipalities needed to help fund the facility upgrades. It might also require state legislators to chime in. Regardless, MiLB stadiums were not going to be topics for local politicians.
Of course Manfred is saying all of the right things by advising that it is MLB’s INTENT to ensure that “some sort of baseball” will remain in the communities that are not part of the 120. Again, words have meanings. Intent does not mean absolute.
Below is the podcast I listened to, and it is a very good discussion on the State of MLB and MiLB.
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/podcast-the-state-of-mlb-minor-leagues-negotiations/
Baseball America has a couple of excellent articles on the subject.
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/mlb-lays-out-proposal-to-run-minor-league-baseball/
It seems to me that we really know very little about how this is going to come down. Evidently, the pandemic has slowed things, but I wonder if all of this can be done by the start of the season in 2021.
Might depend on when the start of the season is.
Sounds complicated. But the number of teams sounds simple enough. A, B, C, D leagues. That seems like enough to develop players.
The start of the season is scheduled on April Fools Day.
Thanks Jeff for such an informative article. It seems if a 21 season is anything like the 20 season without fans then the whole system could come tumbling down
I would guess you will not have many HS kids drafted. This will force HS kids into a college program. This may be good for the young kids. They can play college baseball and summer baseball. Also they may get a college education. This may be a win/win for the kids. If they go college, when can they be drafted? Is it after the second year in college?
Currently:
2 year school (junior college or community college), after the first year.
4 year schools – After their 3rd year in school, or if they turn 21 at the time of the draft.
Idahoal. One would hope that undrafted high school kids would now go to college to continue playing and get an education. But here’s been the sad reality. When I signed way back when, part of my bonus was a college education. I think it was valued then at $60,000 and had to be used within a certain time limit. It was very cool as all my college expenses were paid by the Commissioner’s Office including tuition, room and board, books, expenses. I had to do nothing but submit information. It took a little longer but I used that for a Bachelor’s Degree.
I asked a scout later when I was paying for a Master’s degree if any signee had held out in contract negotiations for the cost of a Masters? He chuckled and informed me that MLB saved a lot of money on the “pay for college” bonus deal because less than 10 to 15% of the kids that signed for that actually used that college money. They didn’t GO. Maybe that number has increased over the years. I don’t know.
The fact was that many baseball guys were interested in pro baseball, even the low minors, and not interested in traditional 4-year college. And it’s tough to want to spend your winters in a classroom.
Even the non-4-year college bound kids could use that money to pay for a community or technical college to get a 2 year degree in a Career and Technical Education area to have a trade of skill when their careers end. We all know the pay scale in the minors won’t pay for post high school education.
That’s a sad but true stat.
Thank you, AC, for this very informative and well-researched article on the minor league situation.
Made me curious about the protection of MLB from anti-competitive behavior. Not sure what that means. Interesting information on the 10-year licence. Hope they are correct and the quality of travel and hotel accommodations improve.
Wishing and hoping to see minor league season next year.
The anti-trust exemption protection means they are protected from any outside competition. That is currently one of the threats some congressional representatives want to look at.
For any that are interested, below is a link to an excellent article from Nathaniel Grow and FanGraphs. Grow is an Associate Professor of Business Law & Ethics at the University of Georgia, and is the author of an outstanding book on the subject: Baseball On Trial – The Origin of Baseball’s Antitrust Exemption. That is a book that is in my library.
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/baseballs-antitrust-exemption-a-primer/
Thank you AC. Please keep up your outstanding coverage of the minor leagues and their players. It is appreciated.
Awesome information Jeff. Lots to process here for my little brain. So you report the structure being:
AAA – 30 teams (Dodgers currently OKC – Pacific Coast League)
AA – 30 teams (Dodgers currently Tulsa – Texas League)
A+ – 30 teams (Dodgers currently Rancho Cucamonga – California League)
A (full) – 30 teams (Dodgers currently Great Lakes – Midwest League)
The Dodgers would have their complex rookie league team play in the Arizona League.
So it appears, if I’m looking at this right, that short A is being eliminated? That would be the 42 teams set to be chopped? This level used to be the landing spot for newly signed high school and college players signed in June. While I guess the plan is to sign less kids, would all of the June signees now start in the Arizona League?
Maybe someone above my pay grade can help my understanding.
Yes, the short season A leagues (Northwest and NY-Penn) and Rookie League (Pioneer and Appalachian) are currently due to be eliminated. The Appalachian League apparently has decided to formally separate from its MLB affiliations and create a summer wood bat league, similar to Cape Cod. I beleive a contract has already been signed for that to occur. There is no word as to what is to happen to the other leagues. Some of those teams could find themselves in one of the affiliated AAA, AA, A+, and A Leagues, or they will form their own independent league. There are currently only two full season A League teams – South Atlantic (Sally League) of 14 teams, and Midwest League of 16 teams. Because the teams are very concerned about travel, I would conjecture that some of these teams could be better geographically placed and a third full season A League could be formed out in the West where some Pioneer and Northwest Teams were situated. Some of the NY-Penn League teams (i.e. Batavia) could be part of the Midwest League. Sheer conjecture on my part, but why not? Three ten league teams with two five team divisions in each league???
The 120 need to be identified and licenses granted soon for the other chips to fall. But if there is only one thing certain, it is that there will only be 120 teams.
Thanks Jeff.
Good documentary to watch is The Battered Bastards of Baseball.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Battered_Bastards_of_Baseball#:~:text=The%20Battered%20Bastards%20of%20Baseball%20is%20a%202014%20documentary%20film,baseball%20team%20in%20Portland%2C%20Oregon.
I have watched it many times. I always liked Bing Russell the owner of the Portland Mavericks. I saw Kurt play when he was in the Angels farm system before he got injured. He was a pretty good player. Their uniforms reminded me of the El Paso Diablos unis when I watched them play while I was in the Army.
It’s the uncertainty that is making everything so difficult in all walks of life. Tough times.
Read this earlier and although it means little I thought I’d share it as I personally would love to see it happen even if it were at the expense of re signing JT.
https://fansided.com/2020/11/09/dodgers-lineup-would-be-unstoppable-if-nolan-arenado-interest-is-real/?utm_campaign=FanSided+Daily&utm_source=FanSided+Daily&utm_medium=email
Morning Watford. I read yesterday about the interview AF gave about Covid, and free agents and most things Dodger moving forward. To me, one of the most telling was that signing JT was not a priority, He did not rule that out, but it is not at the top of the list. #1 Relief pitching. #2. RH power bat. With his diminishing skills, JT does not really fill that bill, so Arenado would be an option or at least on the table. While his glove would bring plus defense to the team, his offense outside of Coors is not nearly as good. Career wise at Dodger Stadium in 65 games he is a .251 hitter with 16 homers and 35 RBI’s. You can toss that out the window a little because he would not be facing Dodger pitching. So, you could probably expect a somewhat better performance there. But anything close to his what he averages over a 162 game season, .297, 35, 114, would be superior to anything they have ever gotten from Turner plus the platinum glove defense. I am pretty sure he would not opt out of his contract after 21 like he can because simply, he is a So Cal kid. He would be coming home. The loss to the Dodgers in terms of what do the Rockies want in return would be the big question, and also the loss of JT’s on field leadership. From my end, since I live here in Rockies country is the backlash the Rocks would get from the fans if he was traded to a division rival. And most here HATE the Dodgers. If he want to LA, they would be livid.
Hi Michael – your response covers things nicely, and I had not seen that interview with AF, so maybe it’s not such a Pipe Dream after all.
Like I said the other day, you should always strengthen from a position of strength. Seeing Nolan Arenado on the first day of Spring Training would send a very clear message to all the Dodger Players, plus the rest of the Baseball community, that the job is not finished, but rather only just starting.
Of course the same would apply if we sign Bauer or say DJLM,
Stay safe everyone.
I do not see them signing Bauer simply because starting pitching is not a need UNLESS they trade one in getting say someone like Arenado. And second base is not a need either. The need is bolstering the back end of the pen and some RH pop. They actually at this point in time have no good power RH bats on the bench. Also, we need to know if the NL will keep the DH. That will not be decided until the MLBPA and the MLB meet.
I traded Pollock for Arenado. Other players involved.
Just a question Bum. Why would they even want him? They are loaded with outfielders. They are even contemplating trading one, Dahl. I doubt Pollock’s name would even be mentioned.
Great stuff Jeff. I will admit I am not as knowledgeable as I should be about the minors. I just usually check to see how the Dodger kids are doing. I do think the contraction of 40 teams is going to impact some communities more than MLB wants to admit. Having attended some games when I have been in those communities there is quite the attachment for many. I just hope they get baseball in some form to compensate them for the loss.
Well we know for sure that Stroman won’t sign with the White Sox. He stated today that no amount of money could get him to play for LaRussa. Sox getting a lot of backlash for hiring him knowing about the DUI. And 2 weeks after his hiring, he has still not contacted Tom Anderson, the teams player rep. I have my doubts that the Hall of Famer is going to connect very well with these kids. Friedman said that 9 members of the organization had tested positive. He did not say how many were players. Just how BAD are the Jets? Wow……pitiful…and they still almost beat the Brady-less Patriots.
I wouldn’t be surprised if there is enough pressure out of the LaRussa story that he resigns in the next few days.
Reinsdorf is an old guy and he’s been around since the days when a DUI brought a shrug of the shoulders and a wink and then you went on with your life. It would have been one thing if they’d been blindsided by the story but they knew about it the day before they hired him. We no longer live in the time that Reinsdorf remembers and he is not only going to get blowback from potential free agents, but also from current players and fans.
Since the hire was questioned in the first place because of LaRussa’s age, I say he’s gone by the weekend. Next time hopefully Reinsdorf will stay out of it and let Hahn make the decision.
I have to agree with you there. He is definitely living in a time warp. Any of you guys living in Encino have a new neighbor. Mookie just bought a mansion there for 7.6 million clams. I think he can afford it.
Do you expect the Mookster to take in any boarders?
I think he’s planning to construct a boarder wall to keep out people like you and me phil.
Oh, wait a minute, wrong type of boarder.
Phil would pole vault over it. I’d tunnel under it. You can’t keep us out.
Baseball Digest https://ballparkdigest.com/200905261902/minor-league-baseball/news/affiliate-dance-2012covered is providing updates on ballpark affiliations. The biggest change so far is the realignment of Low and High Class A leagues.
“Here’s what we’re looking at today in terms of Class A alignments:
LOW A
California League (8 teams)
Florida State League (10 teams)
Sally League (12 teams)
HIGH A
Midwest League
Northwest League
Carolina League
New Mid-Atlantic League
Just watched a video on Twitter that has to be the greatest golf shot ever. I do not even know crap about golf other than the fact I suck at it. This guy hits the ball that skips across the water hazard 3 times, hits the green off of the water and then curves around the green all the way into the cup. I was flabbergasted. My best shot ever came off of a couple of swinging logs, banking off of the concrete and into the hole.
The Lindor to LA debate continues……he is not coming to LA. That’s my story and I am sticking to it. At least not in a trade. AF does not need a switch hitting SS. He needs a RH power bat and some back end relief. Mookies new house in Encino was bought from Chip Kelly, the UCLA coach.
The Dodgers are the 2020 WS champions! I know, I’m a little late, but I had not posted it on this site and I had to let it out.
I was thinking about how long that 32 year wait was. The Dodgers won their 1st WS in 1955 and they won their 6th WS in 1988. That is 6 titles in 34 years. It helps put that 32 year wait in proper perspective. Horrible! I hereby decree that no wait for a Dodgers WS title will be any where near that long ever again. 🙂
I remember the ’55 series win against the Yankees well. I was taunted by Yankees fans constantly back then. They let me know that even though the Dodgers made it to the WS in ’41, ’47, ’49, ’52 & ’53 They still lost every one of those series to the Yankees. So, besides being the Dodgers’ 1st WS win, it also gave me a chance to talk smack to those Yankees fans. But, alas, the Yankees beat the Dodgers again in ’56. Is it any wonder that I was a true Yankees hater? Then in the 1963 WS the Dodgers won 4 straight games. That was the 1st time the Yanks had been swept in a WS and it was a great year for me.
If the Dodgers are Champions you can never be too late or too soon!
Bear you mean the ex UCLA football coach. Coming soon!
He has not been fired yet. They only played one game. But he might resign, you can never tell.