The Salaries of MLB Players Should Be Lowered Essay Example

The typical Major League Baseball (MLB) athlete makes an average of four million dollars a year. The average income for an adult in the United States of America is thirty-one thousand dollars a year. This means that the average MLB athlete makes one-hundred-twenty-eight times more than the average US worker. (Bureau 1)  The problem at hand is that these athletes aren’t adding anything to the economy, factories, or adding anything to help with the country as a whole. An elementary school teacher makes nearly forty-thousand a year and that someone is building the next generation of leaders every day. The importance of those jobs is vital to our society. The problem is unjust and disrespectful to all the farmers, teachers, businessmen, and government employees who help the world be a better place and yet are not fairly compensated. The salaries of MLB players should be lowered because of the challenge of career, and the importance of jobs. 

With that being said, the challenge of a  job should always determine the pay of the employee. MLB athletes work hard to get where the sport becomes a profession, there is no argument there, however, the struggle to stay in the MLB after one has entered it is almost non-existent. Once someone is on an MLB team it becomes hard to be removed from that team, or that team's franchise. Under each MLB team are four teams of minor league baseball. “Minor league is split up between Triple-A (AAA), Double-A (AA), High-A (A+), and Single-A (A).” (Mayo 1) With this being considered it's easy to see that being dropped from an MLB franchise is tough. It's not required to climb the ladder to get to the MLB, but it is there to help players to get their individual skill levels up. Players who make it to the MLB are almost guaranteed a job no matter the performance put forth. With a job such as a doctor, the employee will have to work very hard to ensure job security. A teacher will have to teach correct material as times change to keep employment. The MLB athletes do not have to worry about changing times as the game of baseball does not change, the basics remain. Khalid Hosseini a medical doctor said this about how hard the process is to become a doctor  “Qualities one needs to get through medical school and residency: Discipline. Patience. Perseverance. A willingness to forgo sleep. A penchant for sadomasochism. Ability to weather crises of faith and self-confidence. Accept exhaustion as fact of life. Caffeine addiction is a definite plus. Unfailing optimism that the end is in sight.” This is the sacrifice made by medical professionals who make a fraction of an MLB salary. 

Secondly, the contribution of the job should have a lot to do with the pay a player receives. A job where the economy is helped drastically should be paid higher than a job that doesn't. There is no question that the economy isn't helped nearly as much as several other jobs. The importance of entertainment can be reached in other ways when teachers take a lower payment when a teacher is of higher importance and education over a baseball athlete. When broken down to importance it’s unruly the difference between the MLB and a majority of other jobs. The goal is not to disrespect the MLB or the job MLB athletes have. Athletes in the MLB provide substantial amounts of entertainment for many families and households. The goal is to show the evidence proving that the pay an MLB athlete makes is too much and especially unfair. To level the price gap between athletes and day-to-day employees.

On the contrary, many will argue that the average wage of an MLB athlete is quite reasonable. Some believe that due to entertainment value these salaries are well worth it. Families all across the world watch baseball with families, friends, and significant others as a way to spend quality time with specific individuals who might also share a love for the game of baseball. Some argue that an MLB athlete works just as hard as a doctor or teacher. It's not easy to get into the MLB therefore it is worth the pay due to the hard work that gets one there. The argument of fame and publicity provides a lot less privacy, and more money will suffice for the lack of actual alone time. All of these arguments are valid and worthy of consideration. 

Conversely, Americans put way too much value in entertainment. There is grand value found in entertainment but that will not go away when the athletes aren’t being paid multi-millions to play the sport. The sport will still be played. An MLB athlete works hard to get to the major leagues however the workload is a different animal to wrestle. There's no doubt that hard work and grit pay off, however, it's a shame to compare a baseball player to a medical doctor or surgeon. Fame and publicity are not something to take lightly, however, there are ways to have privacy without having multi-millions. A gated neighborhood is not uncommon for citizens to reside in. These bring a quiet neighborhood, due to the only people able to enter are the residents of these neighborhoods.

All things considered, the MLB athletes get paid insane amounts of money to catch and throw a baseball. A salary is a form of celebration, and thank’s for hard work, day in and day out. An MLB athlete is not putting out the same work and energy that a teacher or medical professional is. The importance of entertainment isn’t even in the same category as the importance of several other jobs. However, there is so much emphasis put on it. “Teachers, I believe, are the most responsible and important members of society because their professional efforts affect the fate of the earth.” ― Helen Caldicott. The salary gap between a teacher and a professional athlete is heartbreaking due to who earned and who deserves the money the most. The goal is not to take all funds away from the MLB and give it all to teachers and doctors, the goal is to slightly lower the wages of MLB athletes and to raise the wages of other professions. No disrespect to any athlete in the MLB but instead all respect to those that sacrifice time, effort, and energy to make the world a better place by investing in others. MLB athletes should not have such high salaries due to the impact of grit involved and the quality it brings to society.