Manfred meets with Bernie Sanders over minor league proposal

[Uncle Joe]

NEW YORK (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders met Monday with baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred to discuss MLB’s proposal to that would drop 42 minor league teams from their leagues after the 2020 season.

(snip)

MLB issued a statement Monday saying it “understands that we have an obligation to local communities to ensure that public money spent on minor league stadiums is done so prudently and for the benefit of all citizens.

(snip)

Sanders issued a statement saying Manfred asserted “he is committed to a good faith negotiation” and “is open to solutions that would maintain professional baseball in the 42 communities while addressing concerns about facilities, working conditions and wages for minor league players.”

Sanders said he “and other members of Congress will be carefully monitoring the progress of negotiations on behalf of fans.”


https://apnews.com/462c0621624048cda5ab61ba801f25eb

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

1. Thanks Uncle Joe... Bernie's leadership skills showing again!!

Bernie/Elizabeth or Elizabeth/Bernie 2020!!
Either way, they're stronger together!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[George II]

9. How does that demonstrate "leadership skills"?

[TexasTowelie]

2. Ultimately those baseball teams are businesses.

How long are those businesses expected to remain open if they aren't making a profit? If the baseball teams decide to raise the prices for the fans, some of those fans will decide that it is no longer an affordable form of entertainment. Do the municipal governments get involved to provide even more subsidies? Is it fair to burden the taxpayers with additional debt? Can the baseball team owners ever end their business so that they avoid more financial losses or at least free up their capital to invest in more lucrative businesses?

The profit margins for some of these minor league teams must be extremely thin, because if the teams were truly successful from a financial POV, then the owners would be fighting to keep the teams open so that they can make more money. If a business that provides a non-essential service is destined to fail, then I don't think Bernie or any other politician is going to prevent it from happening. While there will regrettably be job losses, should I have to subsidize a baseball team with tax money if the owner refuses to commit more money when I don't particularly like watching baseball?

[George II]

7. If those teams had fans to monitor on behalf of, they wouldn't be going away. Fact is....

....a number of small and smaller market minor league teams are struggling because they have very few fans.

[TexasTowelie]

8. I think that baseball has also experienced some decline as the "national past time."

The pace of the game is much slower than basketball or football. Any time a pitcher is pulled during the game there is a stoppage in play for several minutes. A lot of time can also be spent if a batter keeps hitting foul balls. There is so much "down" time that the game can become unwatchable.

[George II]

3. Sanders said he "and other members of Congress will be carefully monitoring....

....the progress of negotiations on behalf of fans.”

Did he bother to look into WHICH teams were being affected and how and why? They're low-level rookie teams and what they call "short season" teams. And they're dropping formal affiliation with those teams. They're not shutting the teams down. There are many existing minor league baseball teams that aren't affiliated with any major league team.

But it makes good headlines when contributions drop off.

[BeyondGeography]

4. You have to admit though

Bernie and Kennesaw Mountain Landis do have a separated-at-birth thing going.

[George II]

5. Bazinga!

[Me.]

6. This Is What Congress Be Carefully Monitoring?

[MineralMan]

10. Who gives a damn about minor league baseball teams?

They're businesses. If they can attract enough fans to stay in business, that's fine. It's not a national issue, though.

We have an independent baseball team here in St. Paul. The Saint Paul Saints. They're doing fine, and aren't affiliated with any MLB team. They recently built a brand new field, and their games are very well attended. Even my wife and I have been to games. Good food at the concessions, good seats in the stands, with no bad seats at all.

They're successful, because they make going to the ball game fun again. We've also been to some Twins games. Not nearly as much fun, really. Tickets are too expensive and so is the food and drink. I'd go to a Saints game anytime before getting on the light rail to see the Twins.

Why is Sanders messing around with baseball at all? Get back to work, Bernie!

[Uncle Joe]

11. 106 members of Congress; Democrat and Republican

(snip)

Meanwhile, the politicking moves forward today, with several MiLB owners and officials converging on Washington, D.C. to formally launch a “Save Minor League Baseball Task Force” headed by U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan (D-MA), along with David McKinley (R-West Virginia), who called for MLB to reconsider the contraction plan in a statement signed by 106 U.S. Representatives across the nation, encompassing the political spectrum. Several proposals are floating around as to how Congress can address the issue: while repealing the sport’s anti-trust exemption is seen as the nuclear option by many both in MLB and MiLB, there are other more subtle measures, such as removing MLB’s minimum-wage overtime exemption and limiting the number of visas issued to the sport, under debate.

https://ballparkdigest.com/2019/12/03/contraction-talks-continue-between-mlb-milb-and-bernie-sanders/

[MineralMan]

12. You still miss my point.

Who really cares about minor league baseball?

Let's address more important issues that are going unaddressed. Let the team owners solve their own problems.