You’re a minor league ballplayer. The stadiums may be smaller, the team busses are no private jets, but your physical workload? Well, you’re a professional athlete. That means you probably need to eat a healthy meal after games or workouts. Which… is not asking for a lot. It’s pretty much the bare minimum. But a nutritious dinner is not what two Minor League affiliates of the Oakland A’s recently received. The Fyre Festival may be over but its notorious cuisine has inspired chefs and third-party vendors for two minor ball clubs.
Nothing like the classic cheese sandwich with a piece of lettuce and tomato. And what’s that in the top right corner? Coleslaw? Excuse me while I try to avoid hurling on my laptop.
The next dish we have is a pepper taco with two bits of chicken. Was that supposed to be a fajita?
Gross.
According to the A’s, the food provider has been fired.
Responding to the tweet from Advocates for Minor Leaguers, A’s President Dave Kaval wrote, “This was totally unacceptable. When we found out several weeks ago we terminated the third-party vendor. We apologize to our players, staff, and coaches. We will redouble our efforts to provide the best options for our team at every level.”
But Advocates for Minor Leaguers executive director Harry Marino responded to Kaval via ESPN. “I appreciate Mr. Kaval’s prompt acknowledgment that these meals are unacceptable and his promise to do better going forward.” Marino said in a statement. “Unfortunately, this is far from an isolated incident in Minor League baseball. Each and every day, I hear directly from players about the myriad ways in which they are being mistreated. While players are too scared to speak publicly, for fear of retaliation, their stories need to be heard. I would welcome the opportunity to work collaboratively with Mr. Kaval or any other MLB representative who would like to hear these stories and work together to better the game of baseball for players at all levels.”
Sources also told ESPN that one photo is from May 18 when A’s Double-A affiliate, the Midland RockHounds, played against the Amarillo Sod Poodles. (Sidenote, these names!) The other photo was reportedly taken after May 18 from another A’s minor league affiliate.
Minor leaguers have long been screwed over in terms of pay, housing, equipment, food, and more. They’ve been eating shit for a long time, and it’s past time for The Bigs to do something.