The Major League Baseball Players Trust announced it will commit $1 million to help support Minor Leaguers unable to play this season due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
MLB and its Players Association are still in the process of negotiating terms for the 2020 regular season, but regardless of if they come to an agreement or not, it seems that the Minor League season will be cancelled altogether.
No official announcement has been made but that is the impression everyone in baseball is under.
Some teams have committed to paying their Minor Leaguers through the end of the season, while others have only done so through June. Thus, all donations certainly help, especially considering how underpaid players already are.
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher David Price recently committed to paying every Minor Leaguer in the organization $1,000 of his own money, which was a tremendous gesture.
The MLB Players Trust plans to pursue strategic partnerships with organizations that are already involved in providing needs-based support to players in MiLB, making it a joint effort.
“Like most Major Leaguers, I came up through the minor leagues and understand the challenges that exist. Players recognize their collective responsibility to leave the game better than they found it so that the next generation is empowered to do the same for the players who will follow them,” MLBPA executive director Tony Clark said.
“Within the baseball community, minor leaguers have been particularly hard hit by the pandemic and many of them will lose a season they will never get back. We will continue to seek ways to support them.”
Each year the Players Trust distributes more than $1.5 million in annual grants and programs, while Major Leaguers contribute their time, money and celebrity to call attention to important causes such as this one.
With everything that is going on in the world, some much-needed positive news is certainly welcomed in the sport of baseball.
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