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Originally Posted by BlueLawyer
I guess I just have my quasi-Marxist tendancies burned too deep into me. I guess I still believe in the radical notion that while it is legal for investors to organize and pool resources into corporations, it ought to be legal for those who provide the labor to organize and bargain collectively. I know. Communism.
$15,000 a year is the MAXIMUM they make. That's the guys in AAA. Yeah, they go do schools. Yeah, they go do spring ball and fall ball and clinics and and and. I would be embarrassed, if I were PBUC, if I were trying to defend what I bet works out to something like minimum wage (or below) for the guys on the field who take the most crap and do their professional best, night in and night out.
Seriously, guys, how many of us make, in our jobs, what a Triple-A guy makes? How many of us on this site who work as "part-time" or "amatuer" umpires make more than most minor league guys? I will make more than a Rookie League or Short Season A ball guy this year. It won't take much- 75 dates or so. At the end of high school season I will be more than half way there.
We can argue and we can fuss. Until we have walked the mile in the plate shoes, I think those of us who cast derision on the minor league blues are being awfully judgmental and in the wrong way.
Strikes and outs!
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Okay, just in the interest of facts: According to PBUC, AAA minor league umpires make Class AAA: $2,500-3,400 per month for five month season. That would equal $12,500 to $17,000 per season, not per year.
Also, again, according to PBUC, "Salaries may vary from the above ranges due to service time or other special circumstances. Umpires receive a promotion premium in the form of increased pay when promoted to Class AA, and another promotion premium when promoted to Class AAA." This means that some AAA umpires make more than the $17,000 listed above, for a five month season.
$3,400 per month is more than many school teachers make.
I certainly support raises for minor league umpires. They deserve them. I support raises for school teachers, too. They also deserve them. I have no quibble with the ends. I continue to believe the umpires were misled about the means.