Bryce Harper Needs to Step up and Help Phillies Minor Leaguers Like Shin-Soo Choo Did With Rangers
Uplifting news broke Wednesday afternoon that Texas Rangers outfielder Shin-Soo Choo was donating $1,000 to each of the 190 minor leaguers in the organization. The veteran is set to earn $21 million this season and while ownership should be the ones paying the young players in the system, the gesture is still an awesome one.
Players on other teams should follow in Choo's footsteps if ownership drags their feet and complains about the almighty budget. $190,000 is a lot of money. However, some players make that in a few games. Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper is one of those players and should reciprocate Choo's donation for those in his own organization.
Agent Scott Boras believes that the #Phillies earned enough money off the signing of Bryce Harper last year to pay for his contract for the next 2 1/2 years (about $65 million). The Phillies' attendance increased by 569,297 fans, an increase of 26.4%
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) November 13, 2019
Harper will make $26 million this season if there are 162 games played. That comes out to $160,494 per game! So he can use about 11 innings of pay and give the Phillies minor leaguers some much-needed extra money. MLB is only paying those in the minors $400 per week, which sadly had to be fought for.
Minor League baseball players are not financially built to outlast work stoppages. MLB has the resources to make sure no Minor Leaguers have to quit baseball because of this. https://t.co/OJvV4BJRuS
— Ty Kelly (@tykelly11) March 26, 2020
Harper was a No. 1 overall pick in 2010 and received a $6.25 million signing bonus. He never had to struggle in the minors. But he did spent two seasons in the minor leagues and saw other players who were likely struggling just to live and pay bills. That experience alone should be enough for him to donate an amount of money that is nothing to him.