Nuzzo playing for the Blue Jays at 2012 Spring Training.
Matt Nuzzo was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 24th round of the 2009 MLB Draft from Brown University. Nuzzo played for three Minor League seasons in the Blue Jays organization. Coming from an Ivy League school, Matt is the perfect example of a player sacrificing financial stability to chase his dream. The financial struggles that Nuzzo and his teammates went through were absolutely shocking. The financial mistreatment of Minor Leaguers is the exact message that we are trying to spread and Nuzzo helps us accomplish this through his experience.
"I graduated from college and was drafted. My second year, I went through Spring Training and then went to Extended Spring Training. Instead of paying us ridiculously low salaries, the Blue Jays opted to use our salaries to pay our room and board at a run down hotel and provide all meals in the hotel lobby. Try paying school loans back with that.
The only money we would see would be a $30 stipend a week for two meals on Sunday that they didn't cover. The Extended Spring Training lasts for roughly two months. There was never any asking us if we wanted that or asking if anyone had any food allergies. I just graduated from an Ivy League school and was a pro ball player making $30 a week. Then it happened again the next year. It's very uncommon for someone my age to do two Extendeds but I'm a grinder and halfway through got moved. I think at one point we figured out how much we were making hourly (if we were paid our actual salary) and it came out to like 45 cents an hour based on real hours we were at ballpark everyday."
- Matt Nuzzo