Minor League Baseball Players Officially Joining MLBPA

Wednesday afternoon it became official: minor league baseball players will be represented by the Major League Baseball Players Association, as arbitrator Marin Scheinman's card count decided that the MLBPA has the support needed to represent minor league players.

The Major League Baseball Players Association's attempt to unionize minor league players proved to be successful Wednesday, as arbitrator Marin Scheinman's card count decided that the MLBPA has the support needed to represent minor league players.

Two weeks ago, The Athletic's Evan Drellich and USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported that minor league players had been sent cards to vote on allowing the MLBPA to represent minor league players in the future.

Executive director of the MLBPA Tony Clark issued a statement Wednesday afternoon, welcoming minor leaguers to the Players Association.

"I applaud this extraordinary group of young Players and welcome them to the MLBPA.

This historic achievement required the right group of Players at the right moment to succeed. Minor Leaguers have courageously seized that moment, and we look forward to improving their terms and conditions of employment through the process of good faith collective bargaining.

I also want to acknowledge the tireless efforts of Harry Marino and the dedicated group he led at Advocates for Minor Leaguers, without whom this historic organizing campaign would not have been possible."

Statement from Executive Director Tony Clark regarding Minor League Players joining the MLBPA pic.twitter.com/RrZO9AR22p

— MLBPA Communications (@MLBPA_News) September 14, 2022

Former minor league player Harry Marino led the charge to work with the MLBPA, as the executive director of Advocates for Minor Leaguers. Marino issued a statement of his own Wednesday afternoon:

"For decades, conventional wisdom said that it was impossible to unionize the Minor Leagues. Over the past few years, a group of audacious and committed folks came together to prove that wrong. Each and every person who spent time working on behalf of Minor Leaguers in recent years shares in today's victory.

Special recognition is owed to the Advocates for Minor Leaguers outreach coordinators and Steering Committee members whose tireless work in recent months made today a reality. The game of baseball and the lives of thousands will be better because of their efforts."

Statement from Harry Marino, who led the organizing process as the executive director of Advocates for Minor Leaguers and recently joined the MLBPA: "For decades, conventional wisdom said it was impossible to unionize the Minor Leagues." pic.twitter.com/3eO98aGKCg

— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) September 14, 2022

What this specifically could mean about wages and playing conditions for minor league players moving forward remains to be seen.