FanShot

Health Care and the Minor Leagues

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I had no idea that six-year minor league free agents didn't have health insurance. Garrett Broshius, who's kind of like the love child of Jim Bouton and Cesar Chavez, argues in the USA Today that minor leaguers should get guaranteed health insurance in addition to their $10,000-per-year salary. The nerve. I'm not sure if the minor leaguers will ever have enough leverage to form a union, especially when about 100 of the prospective union members show up to professional baseball with over $100,000 in bonus money every year, but there's no doubt that minor leaguers are getting hosed. When I started Waiting for Boof, I was making about $12,000 a year and paying for my own health insurance. It was pretty rugged, but I can't imagine how resentful I'd be if I knew that I was one of the best in the world at my job, and that I was creating a ton of value -- actual and potential -- for someone else. ¡Viva La Revolución!