Wary Of Watching The Collegiate Summer Leagues
Today, one of our authors shares his thoughts on why he chooses to steer clear of the collegiate summer baseball leagues.
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Leading Off
Collegiate Summer Leagues
By Bill Thompson
I’m lucky enough to live in an area where I have plenty of baseball options. I have around 12 or so affiliated and unaffiliated professional teams contained within a radius of about an hour and a half drive in any direction. There are so many options that I still haven’t made it out to see every team. There are also other options nearby; high school, college, little league, rec center, and so on and so forth. The biggest amateur option though is one that I won’t frequent, collegiate summer leagues.
The Northwoods League is a massive 18-team collegiate summer league. That league alone has five teams within about an hour and a half drive from my house. It would seem all things being equal like it’s the perfect opportunity to go and watch some relatively high-level baseball at well-maintained stadiums in a fun, family-driven environment. The owners in the NWL put money into their teams, into their facilities, and into the experience for the fans. All of these are glowing positives, but you know where they don’t put their money, into the players. That bothers me a lot, and if it doesn’t bother you, well, I’m not sure if you want to keep reading past this point.
I have issues with college sports in general. Student-athletes should be paid, there’s no question about that as far as I’m concerned. Collegiate players bring in untold amounts of money and accolades for their schools and they get zero pieces of that giant money pie. However, I can at least stomach student-athletes being exploited because they are getting an education out of the deal. I say stomach because I don’t like the terms of the deal for student-athletes. I know they are being exploited, but at least they are getting something out of their exploitation.
The same is not true for baseball players taking part in collegiate summer leagues. The NWL is but one of many such leagues and every single one of them lives and breathes by virtue of exploiting their players. They dangle two things in front of players, exposure and experience, and via those two carrots, they are able to exploit young athletes year in and year out with nary a grumble from the public. Why would people grumble after all, per every single league and team the players love the situation they are in and are doing it with bells on for goodness sake.
The reality is that players in collegiate summer leagues are exploited via a few different factors. Those who are still in college and trying to maintain eligibility are exploited because they literally can’t be paid. The National Collegiate Athletic Association says any player who wishes to maintain their eligibility to continue playing at a college level has to play for free. The collegiate summer leagues jump all over these conditions and bring active college players into the fold by the truckload because they know they are cheap labor who they can exploit at will thanks to NCAA regulations.
Active college players don’t make up the entirety of collegiate summer league rosters. A good chunk of the rosters is made up of players who have exhausted their collegiate eligibility but were not drafted or signed by any affiliated or unaffiliated club. The carrot dangled in front of them is that of exposure, come play for free and you can show all those teams the mistake they made in not signing you. In this case, the collegiate summer leagues exploit players based on their hopes and dreams. Most will not be signed by a professional team, and the few that do still have to go through the process of being exploited by their collegiate summer league team.
There’s also the issue of the money it costs players to get on a collegiate summer league team. Players don’t just show up and get a roster spot, they have to register for a spot. There is, of course, a registration fee that can range from the low hundreds to thousands of dollars depending on the league. Not only do these teams get free labor, but the laborers in question have to pay for the right to play. There’s no other way to see the situation than one where players are exploited and owners are making out like bandits.
Owners of collegiate summer league teams aren’t operating their teams out of the kindness of their hearts. They try and present to the public the idea of small family operations that are ingrained in the community and offer fun entertainment for a small cost. Most of that is true, but they leave out the part where they make money by not paying the players who bring the fans to those games. Without players on the field, there is no reason for the Madison Mallards or Lakeshore Chinooks to exist. They exist because of collegiate and post-collegiate players who know that the system in place means they have to be exploited. Meanwhile, the owners rake in the money and keep their costs low because, as we all know, exploitation of labor makes it easier to turn profits on your business venture.
I know that there are plenty of folks who enjoy frequenting games of their local collegiate summer league team. The goal of this article isn’t to change that. Heck, there’s no long-reaching goal to me writing this article beyond bringing some light to labor exploitation that is being hidden by cutesy mascots and community ties. Collegiate summer league players deserve to be paid unless you believe it’s okay for laborers to be exploited.
Bill Thompson is a father (human/feline/canine), husband, Paramedic, Socialist, writer Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and Off the Bench Baseball; freelance writer at various online and print publications. Member Internet Baseball Writers Association of America & Society for American Baseball Research. You can find him on Twitter at @BillCubbieBlue.
Extra Innings - Should College Athletes Be Paid?
The Wall Street Journal released an eight-minute video (linked below) last March focused on that very question. As the NCAA’s revenue has increased, the debate has intensified over what types of compensation should be considered for college athletes. WSJ explains how a combination of court cases, state legislation, and public pressure are expanding the scope of what it means to be an amateur athlete. What are your thoughts? Feel free to leave a comment!