Major League Baseball has agreed to pay $185million to settle a federal class-action lawsuit filed eight years ago over minimum wage and overtime pay violations for minor league players.
The agreement was filed Friday with the U.S. District Court in San Francisco and is awaiting final approval from Chief Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero, who is expected to grant the request.
The lawsuit, initially filed in March 2014 by three retired minor league players – Aaron Senne, Michael Liberto and Oliver Odle – was settled on May 10 to avoid a trial that was to start three weeks later. Per the agreement, players will split a total sum of $120,197,300 with the remaining portion to go towards attorney fees and other related costs.
MLB also agreed to rescind its former policy of paying minor league players only within the confines of the season, which prevented players from receiving wages during spring training, extended spring training and when participating in instructional leagues.
"This settlement is a monumental step for minor league players towards a fair and just compensation system," said Garrett Broshuis, an attorney representing the players. "As a former minor league baseball player, I’ve seen first-hand the financial struggle players face while earning poverty-level wages – or no wages at all – in pursuit of their major league dream."
Spero previously awarded the players over $1.8 million in damages after finding MLB in violation of California wage requirements back in March. The judge also ruled that minor leaguers should be considered year-round employees and that MLB violated Arizona minimum wage laws as well.
"These are not students who have enrolled in a vocational school with the understanding that they would perform services, without compensation, as part of the practical training necessary to complete the training and obtain a license," Spero wrote.
After receiving increased pressure from both players and labour advocates, MLB agreed to increase minimum salaries of minor league players prior to the 2021 season and announced a new housing policy in November that would provide most players at all levels furnished housing accommodations at the expense of major league clubs.
"We are only in the second year of a major overhaul of the 100-year-old player development system and have made great strides to improve the quality of life for minor league players," MLB said in a statement.
"We are proud that minor league players already receive significant benefits, including free housing, quality health care, multiple meals per day, college tuition assistance for those who wish to continue their education and over $450 million in annual signing bonuses for first-year players."
MLB: Phillies clinch postseason berth with walk-off, 10-inning win over Pirates
The Philadelphia Phillies clinched a return trip to the postseason in thrilling style, as rookie Johan Rojas delivered an RBI single in the 10th inning for a walk-off 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday.
The defending National League champion Phillies lost the World Series to the Houston Astros last season and now will have a chance to take it one step further.
After Jeff Hoffman worked a scoreless top of the 10th, Rojas’ single up the middle off David Bednar easily scored pinch-runner Cristian Pache and sent the crowd of more than 30,000 fans into a frenzy.
The Phillies celebrated their first clinch of a postseason spot at Citizens Bank Park since Sept. 18, 2011, when they won their fifth straight NL East title.
Brandon Marsh homered for Philadelphia, which is poised to earn the No. 1 wild card and host all games next week in the second year of the wild-card series.
Bryce Harper’s sacrifice fly in the sixth gave the Phillies a 2-0 lead but Bryan Reynolds homered in the seventh and Henry Davis took Craig Kimbrel deep in the eighth to forge a 2-2 tie.
Aaron Nola limited the Pirates to one run and four hits over 6 2/3 innings with eight strikeouts.
Pittsburgh’s Mitch Keller took a no-hitter into the sixth before Marsh’s 11th home run opened the scoring.
Suzuki commits costly error, Cubs blow 6-run lead in loss
Seiya Suzuki dropped a fly ball in the eighth inning to allow the tying and go-ahead runs to score as the Chicago Cubs squandered a six-run lead in a disheartening 7-6 loss to the Atlanta Braves.
The loss gave Milwaukee the NL Central title and dropped the Cubs a game behind Arizona for the second of three NL wild cards.
Chicago is one-half game ahead of fourth-place Miami, which was rained out at the Mets.
Ronald Acuna Jr hit his 41st home run – a two-run shot - in the seventh to pull Atlanta within 6-5 after the Braves scored three in the sixth on Kevin Pillar’s homer, Matt Olson’s RBI single and Marcell Ozuna’s double.
Pilllar’s drive made the Braves the third team in major league history (2019 Twins, 2019 Yankees) with 300 home runs in a season.
Kirby stifles Astros in Mariners’ win
George Kirby pitched six scoreless innings and the Seattle Mariners took advantage of three Houston errors to snap a four-game losing streak with a 6-2 win over the Astros.
Kirby allowed five hits with one walk and four strikeouts to win his second straight start.
Cal Raleigh had two hits and one RBI and Ty France homered to help Seattle pull within one-half game of Houston in the race for the final AL wild card.
Jose Altuve had three hits for the Astros, who tied a season high with three errors and dropped to 9-14 this month.
Orioles great and Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson dies at 86
Hall of Fame third baseman and Baltimore Orioles icon Brooks Robinson has died, the team announced in a statement Tuesday. He was 86 years old.
The smooth-fielding third baseman was so iconic to the Baltimore franchise that he was nicknamed “Mr. Oriole.”
An 18-time All-Star selection, Robinson won 16 consecutive Gold Gloves, the most ever by a position player, and was voted the AL’s Most Valuable Player in 1964. He was named the World Series MVP in 1970 after the Orioles defeated the “Big Red Machine” Cincinnati Reds.
The Robinson family and Orioles released a joint statement reading, “We are deeply saddened to share the news of the passing of Brooks Robinson. An integral part of our Orioles Family since 1955, he will continue to leave a lasting impact on our club, our community, and the sport of baseball.”
An 18-year-old Robinson made his MLB debut for the Orioles in 1955 but continued to spend some of his time in the minor leagues until July 1959. He won his first Gold Glove in 1960.
Robinson played his entire career in Baltimore until 1977, when he retired mid-season after hitting .149 in 24 games. The Orioles retired his iconic No. 5 jersey later that year.
On Sept. 29, 2012, the Orioles unveiled a statue of Robinson outside of Camden Yards.
“Brooks Robinson truly was Mr. Oriole,” the club said in a statement. “He played the game for 23 years with a childlike spirit, earning MVP awards in the American League, All-Star Game and World Series. Third basemen from all levels of the game will forever look to Brooks for inspiration.
“Off the field, there was not a kinder, more giving person who embraced the Baltimore community and gave his time and energy to support causes large and small. He embodied everything great not only about the Orioles, but the game of baseball and the city of Baltimore.
“The Orioles were blessed to have Brooks as a player and broadcaster for 39 years and, for the past five years, as a Special Advisor and Community Liaison.”
Robinson’s case as a Hall of Fame player was cemented in the 1970 World Series, during which he dazzled spectators and his Cincinnati opponents alike with remarkable defensive plays and delivered timely hits as the Orioles avenged their loss in the 1969 Series to the Mets.
“I’m beginning to see Brooks in my sleep,” Reds manager Sparky Anderson said during the Series. “If I dropped this paper plate, he’d pick it up on one hop and throw me out at first.”
Anderson later added, “He can throw his glove out there, and it will start 10 double plays by itself.”
Robinson crucially hit a tiebreaking home run in the seventh inning of Game 1 and finished the 1970 Series batting .429 with two home runs, two doubles and six RBIs, making him an obvious choice for World Series MVP.
Robinson played in four World Series and helped the Orioles win two of the franchise’s three championships.
He accumulated 2,848 hits in his 23-year career while batting .267, adding 268 home runs and 1,357 RBIs.
Robinson was at his best when the stakes were highest, batting .303 in 39 career playoff games.
After hearing of Robinson’s passing, the baseball community was effusive in its praise of an all-time great.
“Today is an incredibly sad day for Baltimore and baseball fans everywhere,” fellow O’s Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. said on social media. “Brooks was Mr. Oriole. He was beloved and rightfully so. His historical career on the field pales to the impact he's made on so many of us.”
Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer, who was Robinson’s teammate for 13 years, commented on MASN before the Orioles’ game on Tuesday. “I think as a young player you make a decision early in your life – who do I want to emulate? Who do I want to be like? Brooks was that guy.”
Brooks Calbert Robinson Jr. was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, on May 18, 1937. He is survived by his wife Constance, their children Brooks David, Christopher, Michael and Diana, 10 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
MLB: AL West-leading Rangers win sixth straight
Adolis Garcia, Mitch Garver and Nathaniel Lowe hit consecutive solo home runs in the sixth inning to rally the Texas Rangers to a 5-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Monday that extended the American League West leaders' winning streak to six games.
Marcus Semien added a solo homer in the seventh inning to help back six sharp innings from Jon Gray as Texas reduced its magic number to win the division to four. The Rangers maintained a 2 1/2-game lead over second-place Houston with less than a week remaining in the regular season.
Garcia, Garver and Lowe's back-to-back-to-back homers off Jimmy Herget erased a 1-0 deficit, and Semien belted his third homer in two games an inning later to increase the lead to 4-1.
Texas had a season-high six homers in Sunday's 9-8 win over AL West rival Seattle and now has 227 for the season, surpassing the Angels' 225 for the most in the AL.
Gray ended a seven-start winless drought by holding the Angels to one run on five hits while recording seven strikeouts. The right-hander had gone 0-3 with a 6.46 ERA during that stretch.
Logan O'Hoppe finished 2 for 4 and accounted for Los Angeles' lone run with a solo homer in the second inning.
Angels starter Patrick Sandoval threw three scoreless innings before exiting with tightness in his right oblique. The left-hander walked the first two hitters of the fourth prior to departing.
Verlander dominates Mariners as Astros increase gap in AL wild card race
Justin Verlander took a shutout into the ninth inning in his best start since rejoining the Houston Astros, who increased their lead on the Seattle Mariners for the AL's third wild card with Monday's 5-1 win.
Verlander yielded just two hits and struck out eight until permitting a leadoff double to Josh Rojas to begin the bottom of the ninth. The three-time AL Cy Young Award winner was then removed after 96 pitches.
Rojas ended up scoring Seattle's lone run on a sacrifice fly from Julio Rodriguez.
Verlander helped the Astros to two World Series titles over four-plus seasons before signing with the New York Mets in December. The 40-year-old was traded back to Houston on Aug. 1.
Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker had solo home runs to help Houston win the opener of this important three-game series. The Astros are now 1 1/2 games up on the Mariners for the final wild card and trail the first-place Texas Rangers by 2 1/2 games in the AL West.
Martin Maldonado went 2 for 3 and delivered an RBI double during a three-run second inning that staked Verlander to an early lead. Mauricio Dubon and Jose Altuve added RBI singles during the frame.
Luis Castillo struck out eight over six innings for Seattle, which has now lost four in a row, but allowed all five Houston runs.
Diamondbacks fall to Yankees, drop into tie for NL's second wild card
Oswald Peraza, Estevan Florial and Everson Pereira had eighth-inning RBIs as the New York Yankees rallied for a 6-4 win over Arizona that dropped the Diamondbacks into a tie for the NL’s second wild card spot.
The loss sent the Diamondbacks into a tie with the idle Chicago Cubs in the wild card standings with both teams one game ahead of the Miami Marlins.
The Yankees, who overcame deficits three times in the game, trailed 4-3 entering their half of the eighth but tagged Kevin Ginkel for three runs to take the lead for good. Clay Holmes then pitched a perfect ninth for his 22nd save of the season.
Youngsters Peraza and Austin Wells homered to help the Yankees earn two wins in the three-game series.
Arizona’s Merrill Kelly needed 96 pitches to navigate five innings, but allowed just two runs while striking out five and leaving with the game tied.
Alek Thomas knocked in two runs for the Diamondbacks, while Corbin Carroll finished 3 for 5 with an RBI.
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