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Rangers’ Good Guy Shin-Soo Choo provides an act of generosity to Rangers’ minor leaguers

Photo: Klay Kuban/Dallas Sports Fanatic

Rangers’ Good Guy Shin-Soo Choo provides an act of generosity to Rangers’ minor leaguers

Most individuals are falling under hard times. Local non-essential businesses are failing due to a forced closure by local governments and restrictions. Sure, a check is coming, but it may not even be enough to cover the essentials like shelter, food, and other bills. For baseball, it put minor leaguers in a bind. For those that don’t know the financial situation for minor leaguers, it gets rough. The salary also depends on which league the players play in. According to Adam Wells of Bleacher Report, MLB announced an increase in pay for minor leaguers. The catch is that the rise begins in 2021, leaving minor league players with a significant financial burden on their shoulders.

League Average Current Salary 2021 Projected Average Salary
Rookie/Short Season $290/week $400/week
Single-A $290/week $500/week
Double-A $350/week $600/week
Triple-A $502/week $700/week
*salary only accumulated during minor league season

One thing to keep in mind when evaluating the minor leaguer salaries is that these players only get paid during the regular season (not the offseason or Spring Training). Therefore, these weekly salaries only cover a three-to-five month span. MLB announced yesterday that minor leaguers would receive a weekly allowance of $400 a week from major league teams for the next two months (while the season should be underway). But let’s think about that, $1,600/month, and that’s assuming it’s after-tax deductions. At this time, the US and local governments placed travel restrictions, and players continue to quarantine in locations where $1,600 covers one month of rent. Under these financial hard times, one Ranger stepped up to help his younger brethren, Shin-Soo Choo.

Shin-Soo enters 2020 as the last year of his seven-year/$130M contract. He plays with passion and poise, an aspect that Chris Woodward urges all of his players to incorporate. But what separates Choo from others, is his willingness to help others, even competition. Choo is a leader in the Rangers clubhouse and also voted as the Rangers recipient of the 2019 Good Guy Award a couple of months ago. To start the month of April, Naver Sports reported Choo is donating $1,000 to every single Rangers’ minor leaguer (190 total minor league players). Choo is in a similar boat as some other minor league players who can’t travel outside the United States due to travel restrictions.

The tricky part is that everything is still unknown. Yes, minor leaguers will continue to receive eight $400 payments from now until June 1st, but what happens after that? Even if Major League Baseball resumes, what about minor league baseball? There are rumors that some minor league teams cannot withhold a lack of revenue and would need to shut down since, for Major League teams, a bulk of their revenue rests on the hefty television deals. All of this is a scary thought in the next upcoming months, but one thing isn’t frightening Shin-Soo Choo’s generosity. If there was any debate on whether he deserved the Good Guy award this past offseason, that debate’s ship sailed. Last season, Chris Woodward and Shin-Soo Choo had a discussion that sticked with Woody, it’s something we can all learn from Choo. “”He doesn’t take anything for granted. He tells his kids the same thing, don’t you take being able to hit on a big league field for granted.”

Credentialed Media Staff Writer covering the Texas Rangers for Dallas Sports Fanatic | 2014 University of North Texas graduate with a Bachelor's in Radio, Television, and Film. I talk about things. Find me on the tweeter @aplinckTX

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