Are you or your son considering a career in pro baseball?

Maybe both of you should read this 1st.

Major leaguers make big bucks – millions of dollars.

Minor leaguers might as well take vows of poverty.

They ride a bus rather than fly 1st class. They eat at Wendy’s, not 4-star restaurants. They don’t get paid unless they play.

They live with Mom and Dad when they can, hoping one day to make the majors.

With baseball shut down by the corona virus, major leaguers receive updates.

Minor leaguers get zilch.

Major leaguers learned last week, for instance, that the start of the regular season is delayed indefinitely.

Blame that on – or credit it to – recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Better known as the CDC, they advised MLB to restrict events to no more than 50 people for 8 weeks.

Major leaguers get updates quickly and efficiently because they are represented by the most powerful labor union in US sports.

But thousands of minor leaguers in 30 franchises don’t have that luxury. They have no union. That leaves them at the mercy of MLB and the club owners.

Most minor leaguers were sent home with little idea of what to do next. Latin American players may face problems getting back into the US if new travel restrictions come.

The MLB brushoff

What does MLB have to say about this?

Teams should find “suitable accommodations.”

MLB also says that practices and games are canceled but major league spring training sites are open to players who want to use them to stay in shape.

And they will receive their meal and housing money.

Latin American players left the country as they had nowhere else to go.

Minor-league pay is notoriously small. Even top players make roughly $15,000 for a 5-month season. Single-A players could earn less than $7,000.

Minor leaguers who haven’t been paid since last season left camp without knowing when they would get paid.

A former minor leaguer, attorney Garrett Broshuis filed a lawsuit for players. He charges that the league is violating state and federal minimum wage laws.

Pay is expected to be negotiated by a new minor league union.

What they can’t do

Minor leaguers have been told to stay in shape. They can’t take jobs as they don’t know when they may have to report back. They can’t collect unemployment because they are technically still employed. And they will no longer get team lodging and meals.

Got an opinion about this rotten deal? Just email me at ChronicleSports@yahoo. com .