‘These players represent our future and clearly our decision to not pay them was a mistake,’ A’s owner John Fisher said in a statement.
Photo: john g mabanglo/ShutterstockAbout a week after facing ferocious criticism for their decision to stop compensating their minor-league players during baseball’s pandemic-related shutdown, the Oakland Athletics have reversed course.
The team announced Friday that it will continue to pay its prospects their weekly $400 stipend through August, which coincides with the previously scheduled conclusion of the minor-league season.
“These players represent our future and clearly our decision to not pay them was a mistake,” A’s owner John Fisher said in a statement. “The truth is that we got this decision wrong, and I apologize to our minor-league players and others involved.”
Fisher also said he was setting up an emergency assistance fund for furloughed team staffers. The San Francisco Chronicle first reported the news of Fisher’s change of heart.
Unlike their major-league counterparts, minor leaguers aren’t represented by a union, largely leaving them at the mercy of their employers. The A’s previously stood alone as the only organization in the sport to completely cut off its minor leaguers once the calendar turned to June. Before Friday, the other 29 teams all had announced that they would pay their prospects at least through the end of the month, with eight saying they would keep paying at least through August, according to Baseball America. Fisher, whose parents founded the Gap, has an estimated net worth of more than $2 billion.
On May 26, A’s general manager David Forst sent an email to the minor leaguers informing them that they would no longer be paid and noting that other provisions of their contracts remained in force. Swift backlash followed, including from the players themselves. Single-A pitcher Peter Bayer told The Wall Street Journal at the time that he “completely lost respect for everyone involved in that decision” and that, “I wouldn’t even care if I was released.”
Bayer, 26, thanked the A’s in a Twitter post on Friday.
“I take back my statements because of this reversal and the fact that they apologized to us,” he wrote. “I’m looking forward to doing everything I can to get myself ready when we start back up.”
When that will actually happen probably won’t be anytime soon. Because Minor League Baseball derives virtually all of its revenue from live attendance—and most states still have restrictions on large gatherings because of the coronavirus pandemic—the season is expected to be canceled. Major League Baseball still hopes to play this year, but the team owners and the players’ union are locked in a fierce labor negotiation with no end in sight.
The league says it isn’t economically viable to stage a representative season without fans in the stadium unless players accept a reduction in pay. The players point to a previous agreement signed last month where they agreed to prorate their salaries for the number of games played and are steadfast that they won’t take further cuts. MLB is now considering the possibility of unilaterally imposing a schedule that features as few as 50 regular-season games on the players, which the March deal allows it to do.
This week, the two sides traded strongly worded letters reaffirming their positions. They currently have no further talks scheduled.
Write to Jared Diamond at jared.diamond@wsj.com
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Oakland A’s Will Pay Minor Leaguers Through End of Season - The Wall Street Journal
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