My name is Connor Law, and I am in the Toronto Blue Jays organization. I was a free agent who signed out of Lindenwood University in 2017. Everything in this article is my opinion and my thoughts on the entire MiLB situation and baseball as a whole. I highly encourage discussions and different viewpoints.
Well let me be the millionth person to say it, “this sucks.”
It sucks for all of the minor league players who don’t get to showcase the improvements they have made in the offseason. It sucks for guys who are already old for the minor leagues – I turned 26 in April – who will come back facing an even smaller chance of making the show.
It sucks for all the guys who got cut because a team wanted to make budget cuts only a year after setting records in revenue. The tens of thousands of dollars saved by a mutli-million/billion dollar business must have made the biggest difference – but what do I know? I am just here to throw a ball, or rather, as it is, stay home and throw a ball into a net trying to keep my arm in shape with the hopes of being invited to a camp or fall or winter league. I know some guys have been shutting it down only to start it back up earlier than normal or just because they picked up a full-time job and can’t consistently get their work in as need.
It is tough out there, but you probably already knew that. Not many jobs are hiring and for the few that are, “minor league baseball player” does not exactly put you at the front of the list for many jobs in terms of resume qualifications. It is hard to find a job when we have to disclose that “I don’t know how long I can work – it might be a week, it might be until next spring training.” The uncertainty takes a toll, but such is life. I have been fortunate enough to have few bills and been able to find a job that is very understanding of my situation, but I know this is not the case for everyone, for many of my counterparts, and I know for sure, we would all much rather be playing ball.
I am generally not a glass half empty guy, and I do my best to try and see both sides of any situation – there are some positives that came out of this. There are a couple guys on the taxi squad who are going to possibly debut earlier than normal. Yeah, you have your typical first rounders, but I’m talking about some of my teammates who weren’t first rounders but they are still in Toronto (or wherever the team city is), and I love that. I could not be happier for those guys. It actually pumps me up seeing some of my former teammates from Low-A and High-A in Toronto practicing with the big leaguers – it is fantastic!
Another thing that is not so bad is the minor league ballplayers who were not invited have an opportunity to develop a little bit more. In my opinion, my slider has improved in movement and control throughout all of this. Having said that, it just makes me miss playing in games and throwing going after hitters in games or even game-like situations in practice even more.
This may be cliché, but spending time with family and friends during a summer has been great. I have a close family, and we are all in the same area – I enjoy watching my nieces start up sports and being able to spend a summer with them. I don’t think that I have been able to do that since 2016, seeing them more is definitely a silver lining.
One last thing, of course, is the pay. The fact that the MiLB and MLB decided to pay us while we are not even playing is outstanding. I know Emily Waldon (@EmilyCWaldon) is a huge advocate for minor leaguers, and she has done so much in helping us, alongside with More Than Baseball (@mtb_org). Being paid $400 a week helps so many people out. People complain that it is not enough but the fact we are basically getting paid to stay in shape is great. I have absolutely zero problems with it, and I cannot express how grateful I am for it.
Hopefully there will be some camps or maybe fall league so some of us can get a shot to show off our talents – maybe I can even spin that slider that I have been working on. Only thing now is to keep working hard, develop the craft, and hope to get an invite to a camp.
I appreciate Ryan letting me talk about this. I encourage any and all discussion about this subject. You can find me at @CLawman41 on Twitter and Instagram.