Cash Money

One of the true advantages of becoming a new father (aside from the opportunity to mould another person into your own likeness and drill them relentlessly until they become the greatest at whatever it is that they choose to do) is Father’s Day. It’s like a second birthday - another day when you’re the centre of attention and the adulation is ratcheted up a notch. While the Defensive Specialist always made an effort to thank his father for being a rock solid human being and an A1 dad, at no stage did the Defensive Specialist really stop to consider how challenging it must have been being a parent. The Defensive Specialist is certain that the last thing his dad wanted to do when he got home from work was immediately grab a baseball glove and play catch but he did it without complaint (ok, there was occasionally mild protestations, especially when it was 40 degrees Celsius). So on the Defensive Specialist’s first Father’s Day, the “thanks dad” comes with a greater comprehension of what it’s all about.

Anyway, enough of the schmaltzy stuff, let’s get to the Father’s Day present.

The Defensive Specialist was given a card filled with sentimental words about what a great dad he is. At the end of the card there was a joke about receiving a Bunnings voucher as a gift and then, more importantly confirmation that the Defensive Specialist had been gifted a season ticket to the Sydney Blue Sox. Unfortunately, the season ticket had not arrived in time to be placed inside the card, which could have ruined the entire day until Mrs the Defensive Specialist made blueberry pancakes for breakfast.

Being a season ticket holder may cause a spot of bother because the Defensive Specialist was fairly confident that he was on the shortlist to be Sydney’s number 1 ticket holder for the inaugural season, which would likely entail receiving free tickets. If that does in fact come off, the Defensive Specialist may have to use his season ticket as an opportunity for fans to hang out with him at games and who could think of anything better than that? – A date with the Defensive Specialist!

So what do you get for your 160 bones?

-       Premium seating

-       A personal lifetime Sydney Blue Sox membership number

-       Discounts on Blue Sox membership

-       A weekly newsletter

-       Priority access to purchase tickets to ABL playoffs

Surely they could have thrown some pale blue hosiery in there to beef it up a little? The personal lifetime Sydney Blue Sox membership number could be the weakest ‘benefit’ ever offered in sports (this isn’t just a Sydney thing, all teams seem to be offering up your chance to have your own membership number). This is like Medicare congratulating you when you receive your Medicare number. “Well done, you’ve got that number for the remainder or your living days!”

Despite the cheap dig at the weak giveaways and the disappointment over the lack of complimentary powder blue socks, the Defensive Specialist feels good to be supporting Australian baseball and can’t wait for the season opener.

Moving on from Father’s Day, the Defensive Specialist wanted to talk money. Specifically player payments in the ABL. The Defensive Specialist has had numerous reader inquiries regarding how players will be remunerated over the course of the ABL season. This was all made clearer to the Defensive Specialist recently when he stumbled across a player contract issued by the Perth Heat.

Before the Defensive Specialist launches into the figures, it would be prudent to warn readers to brace themselves for the shock they are about to receive. These boys are most certainly NOT playing for the big bucks!

The Defensive Specialist isn’t sure if all clubs are under the same payment structure but the gist of the Heat system is that the higher the level you play, the more dough you make. Payments are broken down into a payment based on series participation and by appearances (which the Defensive Specialist assumes is appearances at sponsorship or promotional events). The table below lays out the payment structure.

Tier	Class	Series	Appearances	$/series	Total
1	MLB/40 man	10	10	$500.00	$5,000
2	AA/AAA	10	5	$400.00	$4,000
3	A/College/5yrs +	10	5	$200.00	$2,000
4	Rookie Ball/Amateur	10	5	$100.00	$1,000

As you can see, there aren’t many guys who’ll be enjoying a footloose and fancy-free summer on that coin. If you take the example of Luke Hughes who is currently on the Minnesota Twins 40-man roster, there is every likelihood that he’ll appear in all 10 series as well as his 10 scheduled appearances. Lets do a rough calculation on his hourly rate for the season:

Average game time (2.5 hours) X 4 games per series x 10 series = 100 hours

1 hour of pregame X 4 games per series x 10 series = 40 hours

1 hour appearance x 10 appearance = 10 hours

So we’re at 150 hours so far.

Now lets also add in 2 practices per week at 2 hours a pop. The season runs for a minimum of 10 weeks

4 x 10 = 40

Total: 190 hours

5000 / 190 = $26.5 an hour

That isn’t too bad and definitely beats working the drive through counter at McDonalds. However, when you get to the lower tiers the commitment remains similar but the payment drastically drops

4000 / 185 (5 hours less in appearances) = $21.62

2000 / 185 = $10.81

1000 / 185 = $5.40

It’s not all about the money though, look what else a player on the Perth Heat roster gets for their efforts:

·       Travel Per Diem Away Series - $35.00/game day (breakfast to be included in accommodation)

·       Travel Per Diem Away Series - $15.00/ travel day (no game)

Perth HEAT Players Provisions for Player X are as follows;

·       NEW ERA Playing Cap x 2

·       MAJESTIC Tech Fleece x 1

·       MAJESTIC Mock Turtle Neck x 1

·       MAJESTIC Performance Tee x 1

·      MIZUNO Batting Gloves x 2 (Per Position Player)

The purpose of this post isn’t to piss on the ABL parade, rather to highlight how tough the majority of professional baseball players do it and how leanly these ABL franchises are operating. If we assume that every team has 2 guys in tier 1, 6 in tier 2, 10 in tier 3 and 7 in tier 4 we’re looking at a season’s worth of salaries at around $60,000.

The Defensive Specialist could sit here all day crunching numbers, trying to determine whether the players are being short changed, if the teams are breaking even or making a boatload. If teams can average 2000 fans per game at 10 bucks a pop, they’ll be quickly on their way to making some money which should drive player salaries up in years to come. So while there are still a few hours left on this Father’s Day, jump on line and buy your old man seasons tickets, our players’ livelihoods depend upon it!