Minor league players once paid for their own gear

A closer look

The path to the major leagues is paved with extreme poverty and maxed-out credit cards. Until very recently, minor league baseball players were paid salaries so low they routinely slept on air mattresses in crowded apartments. Even worse, many are treated as independent contractors who have to purchase their own expensive bats and gloves just for the privilege of destroying their bodies for a billionaire team owner’s amusement.