Happy Opening Day! (even though MLB hates it's fans)

[Balticfox]

Originally Posted by KJA

That's always been my thought process, if somebody is willing to pay you that much then you are a fool to not take that money. Especially since you aren't going to play forever so you might as well get what you can while you can.

Heaven forbid that the players actually have to work after the age of 35 or so like the rest of us! Incidentally, the minimum MLB salary in 2024 was $740,000. So no my heart doesn't bleed for the poor oppressed players.

Originally Posted by SAllen2556

Your comparing apples to oranges IMO. Musk is a private businessman. Teachers and firefighters are paid by tax dollars - our dollars. That's much easier to complain about! And I think, overall, you're wrong. Just as many people complain about rich guys as they do teachers and firefighters - class envy has been around forever.

We never give credit to the owners who started professional baseball back in the day, but look at all the franchises that went out of business before baseball became the national pastime. In Detroit, we had the National League Wolverines who folded in 1888 after winning a championship in 1887. The Federal League that went belly up after two seasons, I think. No one laments the fate of the owners who put up the money for those defunct franchises and leagues, but it’s ok to hate the owners who managed to hang on through two world wars, a depression, and the general ups and downs of the economy.

...this class envy stuff strikes me as childish and naive. Today’s owners have to care about the fans despite what some might think. If they didn’t, they wouldn't be the greedy capitalists some claim they are, would they? And a business that doesn’t make money isn’t a business, it’s a charity.

Originally Posted by doug.goodman

As an employee, I don't believe in the existence or concept of "overpaid".

I fully agree! Everybody is entitled to whatever they can get! Nor should envy be part of the equation. Although of course as taxpayers we absolutely do have a say in what government employees should get.

Truthfully I don't actually care what the players or owners actually earn (although my heart doesn't bleed for any of them). What galls me is that I liked the reserve clause. I liked it better when a Tiger was a Tiger was a Tiger and a Yankee was a Yankee was a Yankee (until team management saw otherwise). Things were much better when the fans could identify with the players that way and the game is after all for the fans. That plus the fact that the elimination of the reserve clause has slowly but steadily made small market teams much less competitive. That's not good for MLB.

But that's so unfair to the players you say? "Tough!" I say. "Stop your whining. Didn't your parents tell you that life didn't have to be fair? If not, they should have." With the MLB minimum salary at $740,000 for seasonal work, they'll get no sympathy from me. Heaven forbid they have to supplement their meager earnings by working as stockbrokers or in a furniture and appliance store in the off-season.