Shaffer receiving the silent treatment from his Tampa Bay teammates after homering for his first MLB hit in 2015.
Richie Shaffer was a first round pick of the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2012 MLB Draft. He received a $1,710,000 signing bonus, forgoing his junior year at Clemson after outstanding freshman and sophomore years. Richie, unlike many of his Minor League counterparts, had the luxury of a comfortable signing bonus. He shared some eye-opening insight about the advantages that wealthier players gain from the training portion of the professional baseball player lifestyle. The rich get richer.
"It's definitely an issue but it’s hard for a guy who was paid almost 2 million dollars to say players aren’t paid enough. I staunchly believe Minor Leaguers need a pay bump so they’re not forced out of the game unnecessarily.
I’ll say this, I was one of the very few fortunate players who could fund their own career. The vast majority of players can’t. Those that excel are the ones who can afford actual training, food, treatment, living, equipment and don’t have to dedicate their offseason to working a 2nd job. Becoming a big leaguer takes compounding improvements, and the majority simply can’t afford to make those increments. The public doesn’t give much sympathy to MiLBers bc they chose this path and selected players like me do make millions in the draft. That’s fair. But I am overwhelmingly the exception. I’d say if you’re a baseball fan, you should want MiLBers to be paid enough so the big leagues are actually the best players on the planet and not just the players who can afford to be a Minor Leaguer long enough to get there."
- Richie Shaffer