Advocates for Minor Leaguers sends letter to Congress asking for same protections extended to MLB players

The executive director of Advocates for Minor Leaguers blistered Major League Baseball's antitrust exemption Thursday in a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee leadership, calling on Congress to give minor leaguers the same protections already extended to major leaguers, according to a copy of the letter obtained by ESPN.

Harry Marino, whose group has fought for higher salaries and expanded rights for the more than 5,000 minor league players, offered pointed responses to the committee's inquiry into the minor leagues, alleging MLB «has abused its exemption to the detriment of the American people» and deeming its practices toward players «the Minor League Conspiracy.»

Citing low salaries, a fixed wage scale and the law that allows MLB teams to avoid paying minor league players minimum wage or overtime, Marino wrote that Congress should expand the Curt Flood Act, the 1998 law that revoked the league's antitrust exemption for labor matters with major league players. Doing the same in the minor leagues, Marino wrote, could have significant impact, allowing minor league players to «negotiate the length and terms of their initial Minor League contracts with their Major League teams, knowing that at the end of those initial contracts they would be free to sign with the Major League team willing to provide them the best overall compensation package.

»This competition," Marino continued, «would help drive wages and working conditions to their fair market level and help bring players out of poverty.»

Currently, players in Triple-A make a minimum of $700 a week, Double-A players $600, Single-A players $500 and complex-league players $400. Six teams, according to Advocates for Minor Leaguers, do not pay players who are in extended