The Athletics decided last week that they wouldn’t pay their minor league players their $400 weekly stipend as of June 1. Oakland was the only club to make that choice, and it naturally didn’t go over well. Now, in the wake of the vast criticism they’ve received, the A’s are doing a 180. Owner John Fisher told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle on Friday that not only will the A’s pay their minor leaguers for the first week of June, but they’ll continue to receive weekly pay through the end of the scheduled minor league season.
“I’ve listened to our fans and others, and there is no question that this is the right thing to do,” Fisher said to Slusser. “We clearly got this decision wrong. These players represent our future and we will immediately begin paying our minor-league players. I take responsibility and I’m making it right.”
Additionally, while many major league teams have been releasing droves of minor leaguers, Fisher informed Slusser that the A’s have not discussed doing so. The club will also set up an emergency assistance fund for the employees it has furloughed, Slusser reports. The A’s recently furloughed more than half of their employees through the end of October, but Fisher credited those individuals for their loyalty and added, “It felt like the right thing to do was to set up a fund to support them.”
good on them for listening and reversing course
Shouldn’t have screwed up this easy decision in the first place, but at least they changed course.
Well, ba2929, since you were in the room when they made these decisions, and understood all factors, i guess your comment isnt really stupid, moronic and typical shortsightedness when spending other people’s money. Nice job being educated.
Says you.
Yeah! Real educated people use words like stupid and moronic!
Gbs – do you have a real point or just going to debate use of adjectives? Stupid is as stupid does, I guess.
My point was, there’s no need to be so insulting.
Yeah, you let him have it. Ba2929 was clearly out of line for saying such an outrageous thing. How dare he. He definitely deserved your ridiculous reaction and should be banned for life, if not imprisoned. Way to educate him and the rest of us. My god…
Thanks for your support, KCJ. Much appreciated.
No problem LOL. Some of these people are just insane!
Fisher is still ruining the team with his cheapness…. Wish he can sell the team to Joe Lacob maybe we can win something soon….
You want him to fork out money he doesn’t have to pay and now he is cheap. It can’t be both.
john fisher is the 8th richest owner in the mlb. he is cheap
Exactly
F the MLB Players and owners. Pathetic.
You read the article? They’re not releasing anyone.
+1
Well I guess they’ll release some then
Great job by Fisher. The players will do their darndest to split that $400 equally.
Each of the players will get just enough money to buy a soda from the machine in the clubhouse
At least that soda money makes it back on the field… Jonah Hill said so!
Wow, hell has frozen over.
Badda Bing!
Only felt like “the right thing to do” after it became a PR nightmare. Still, it’s good that even the A’s aren’t so cheap as to not pay their minor league guys. They need that 400/week now more than ever.
But they furloughed all their scouts starting July 1st.
What are the scouts going to scout? No minor league games. No high school or college to scout.
For a better organization, hopefully. Baseball is a team game with scouts being very much a part of that team.
You missed the point. How are they supposed to scout for any organization if there are no games being played anywhere?
scouts watch footage from old games too
Talk to people. Engage them. There is more to scouting than watching games.
Fisher, Do the Oakland Fans a favor and sell to someone that’s not a
CHEAP ASS !!!
Fisher is all about the money, just like Wolf was. Two cheap ass owners that got millions in revenue sharing and never spent a cent on the team. All that money went into there pockets.
STATEMENT: If Beane had money he’d have at least 5 rings by now.
LOGIC: 99-06, 12-14, 18-19. That’s a whole bunch of seasons they got pretty close to the playoffs (won at least 87 games), or were eliminated in the WC game or lost 3 games to 2 in the playoffs. Add money/star power to any of those teams – or maybe not even star power, maybe just a better reliever – and that ONE play that always kills them in the playoffs doesn’t happen and they coast the rest of the way via superior matchups.
EXAMPLE: If anyone but Derek Norris was catcher in 2014, they stop the Royals in their tracks, then coast rest of the way with Gray-Shark-Lester all super on fire at the time. It’s always like, ONE move like that.
(oops forgot the most important part)
CONCLUSION: The Oakland Athletics team owners have cost the team 13 potential titles since 1999 and the current group must be forced to sell the team if they refuse to put any money into the on field product.
In order to pay for his generosity, Fisher will instruct Billy B. to trade Matt Chapman for a bag of balls and 3 “O Henry” candy bars…..
….and a personal appearance from Sue Ellen Mischke, the O-Henry! heiress
Players will also be treated to one free ice cream at a future A’s home game. Fine print: game ticket is not included in this offer.
MLB ownership changes their story…..again.
One of the most aloof and out of touch organizations in sports but consistently given the benefit of the doubt because they’re successful despite their cheapness.
lmao they are a lot of things, but the one thing they aren’t are out of touch, hence all the winning they always do.
I hope none of their 2020 Draft picks sing with them, by being cheap!
If drafted in the first 5 rounds, if the signing bonus allotment is matched or exceeded, they’ll likely sign. I’d be shocked if they don’t. Any unndrafted FA though…. that will be hard for them to nab in this equal playing field. I mean, the A’s have always complained about an unequal playing field, so ironic that once there is some lvl playing field, they bite themselves… ironic
these revenue sharing teams love doing this. that’s why they need to abolish the revenus sharing system and tell these cheap fools to suck it up.
If you don’t like the way the A’s spend their money, go buy the team and then you can decide how to run the business. It seems to me they’re pretty successful at what they’re doing. They’re much smart than AJ Preller and the Padres, needlessly throwing millions at bums like Hosmer and Myers and continuing to win 70-75 games a year.
A’s lost their revenue sharing 2 years ago, catch up
I’m a big fan of how they have managed to this point. But being cheap weeks before the draft was not smart, especially during this coronavirus meltdown that most people truly believe overall is a minor economic bump
Someone now tell him to now go and lock up Chapman, Olson, Laureano, Puk and Luzardo forever, and give Semien a 10 year deal too just to show people you really mean what you say.
Semien playing for the A’s until he’s 40-41? Good call on that. Then the entire front office should be fired for entertaining that dumb idea.
What part of “show people you really mean what you say” did you not understand. Have you never heard of over-reaching to make a statement? Its a ballsy move, because he owes it to the fans for being a cheapskate all these decades.
Ah, I see, its a basic lack of reading skills with you.
Go buy one of the old Baseball Prospectus and read every page and get back to me.
Make a statement with Hall of Famers, not a nice player like Semien. I would hate to bring logic to your world. Reality is you’d drive the franchise you pretend to love into the ground with your terrible ideas.
I’d tell you buy…well, not sure if you can afford books or any lesson taught from your local community.
This Wild Bill guy just doesn’t get it. SMH
The only statement that makes is, “yea we’re spending more now, but we’re not spending wisely”. Overpaying a player as a form of communication to fans seems like a bad plan to me.
Both sides have to be willing to negotiate extensions before they can happen.
At least they changed… but I feel like trying to safe face especially with this new draft kinda forced their hand. Like after the 5 rounds, who would sign with them when the playing field is equal? I still think after agreeing to pay their minor leaguers, it will be a tough sell to potential new players. But good for them for doing the right thing
I’m an A’s fan, but they continue to be a clown show
It really is crazy how historically, the A’s ownership has routinely gotten in the way of literal titles. Oakland should have swept the rest of the 70’s but instead they made Reggie, Rollie and Catfish hate the crud out of them and the title-winning players turn on the org. Jimmie Foxx is in the HOF as a Red Sox player because of the same kinda bs.
Then in 1993 there was the whole “offering the Giants San Jose territorial rights, so decades later the Giants could use them agianst the A’s prevent the A’s from moving further away from them” bungle.
The A’s would have as many titles as the Yankees if they had owners who were even remotely intelligent or sensible people. Add stars/money to any Billy Beane team and they go from just barely getting eliminated to at least 5 rings right now. Facts.
You should pitch this fiction to a publisher. Riveting fantasy you have here.
I posted nothing but facts that Giants fans absolutely hate to hear.
Barely any team legends are in the HOF with an A’s hat on, no one ever talks about this, but it’s true.
Keep being pro-owner though, I’m sure that will serve you well in life…smh
Typical A’s fan. Next please tell
Me that Hendu is a top 10 CF of all time
Giants 3, A’s none.
The last 20 years: Giants 4 WS appearances, A’s still zero.
There is plenty of room in Realville if you’d like to visit.
Again a complete clown show. Such an embarrassment to sports