Logan Morrison doesn’t like that Gary Sanchez was invited to the Home Run Derby

By Jul 5, 2017, 9:08 AM EDT
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The All-Star Game Home Run Derby participants were announced the other night. No one takes any issue with rookie phenom Aaron Judge being invited. Or Giancarlo Stanton. Cody Bellinger is hitting the daylights out of the ball. Mike Moustakas is having a career year.

But one guy isn’t happy with one choice. The unhappy guy: Rays first baseman Logan Morrison. The guy he’s unhappy with: Gary Sanchez of the Yankees, who Morrison does not believe belongs on the Derby squad. From the Tampa Bay Times:

Gary shouldn’t be there,” Morrison said. “Gary’s a great player, but he shouldn’t be in the Home Run Derby.”

Morrison has a pretty good case to be included, with 24 homers that, going into play Tuesday, ranked second most in the majors. Sanchez, who joins teammate Aaron Judge among the four AL players in the eight-man field, had 13 homers.

“I remember when I had 14 home runs,” Morrison said. “That was a month and a half ago.”

Morrison does have 24 homers to Sanchez’s 13. And Morrison is having a much better season at the plate than Sanchez. But that sort of doesn’t matter because the Home Run Derby — and the All-Star Game itself for that matter — is not about first half numbers. At least not entirely.

A lot of it is about which players the fans want to see. That’s why starters are voted upon and why not all starters are the guys having the best seasons. There’s a healthy debate about all of this and, in turn, a healthy mix of famous “stars” on the one hand and guys having great partial seasons on the other. While this may have been a bigger problem back when the All-Star Game determined home field advantage in the World Series, it doesn’t anymore. Making the whole event into something the fans want is what it is and what it should be all about.

The Home Run Derbry, while not voted on by the fans, is an extension of that thinking. Aaron Judge could be having a totally flukey four months and may become a pedestrian player one day but he’s a beast and a half right now, destroying baseballs, so he’s there. Giancarlo Stanton “only” has 21 homers and has had better years in the past but you’d be crazy to think he wouldn’t be there given his power, his reputation and his past success in the event.

So too is it the case with Sanchez. He’s having a good first half for a catcher, but he’s not among the league leaders in anything, in large part because he missed a month with an injury. But that doesn’t matter because he wowed baseball last season by hitting a whole bunch of homers in a really short period of time. Which just so happens to be the object of the Home Run Derby. People want to see him.

Do people really want to see Logan Morrison? Judging by the vote tally in the Final Vote for the All-Star Game, I’d say not: he’s currently dead last among the five available choices.

Sorry, Logan. The people have spoken, implicitly or otherwise.

AP Source: Minor leaguers reach five-year labor deal with MLB

Associated PressMar 30, 2023, 12:17 AM EDT
Syndication: The Columbus Dispatch
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NEW YORK – Minor league players reached a historic initial collective bargaining agreement with Major League Baseball on Wednesday that will more than double player salaries, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because details were not announced.

As part of the five-year deal, MLB agreed during the contract not to reduce minor league affiliates from the current 120.

The sides reached the deal two days before the start of the minor league season and hours after a federal judge gave final approval to a $185 million settlement reached with MLB last May of a lawsuit filed in 2014 alleging violations of federal minimum wage laws.

Union staff recommended approval and about 5,500 minor leaguers were expected to vote on Thursday. MLB teams must also vote to approve and are expected to do so over the next week.

Minimum salaries will rise from $4,800 to $19,800 at rookie ball, $11,000 to $26,200 at Low Class A, $11,000 to $27,300 at High Class A, $13,800 to $27,300 at Double A and $17,500 to $45,800 at Triple-A. Players will be paid in the offseason for the first time.

Most players will be guaranteed housing, and players at Double-A and Triple-A will be given a single room. Players below Double-A will have the option of exchanging club housing for a stipend. The domestic violence and drug policies will be covered by the union agreement. Players who sign for the first time at 19 or older can become minor league free agents after six seasons instead of seven.

Major leaguers have been covered by a labor contract since 1968 and the average salary has soared from $17,000 in 1967 to an average of $4.22 million last season. Full-season minor leaguers earned as little as $10,400 last year.

The Major League Baseball Players Association took over as the bargaining representative of the roughly 5,500 players with minor league contracts last September after a lightning 17-day organization drive.

Minor leaguers players will receive four weeks of retroactive spring training pay for this year. They will get $625 weekly for spring training and offseason training camp and $250 weekly for offseason workouts at home.

Beginning in 2024, teams can have a maximum of 165 players under contract during the season and 175 during the offseason, down from the current 190 and 180.

The union will take over group licensing rights for players.

Negotiating for players was led by Tony Clark, Bruce Meyer, Harry Marino, Ian Penny and Matt Nussbaum. MLB Deputy Commissioner Dan Halem headed management’s bargainers.