Rahmatulla playing rookie ball with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Tyler Rahmatulla was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 34th round of the 2011 MLB Draft from UCLA. Tyler spent three MiLB seasons in the Cardinals organization. We like to think of Tyler's response as the epitome of our message. He clarifies his statement by including the fond memories he has of his life in the Minor Leagues. However, like all of us at Minor League Money, he believes that there needs to be change and more baseball fans need to recognize the plights of the Minor League lifestyle.
"Let me preface this by saying my time playing in the minor leagues was some of the most fun and memorable times of my life - where I met some lifelong friends all over the country and was able to play the game I love. That being said, how minor leaguers are compensated is certainly not acceptable. Unless you had a significant signing bonus or some form of outside help, it was hard to live off the salary alone. Particularly in living arrangements and food. One distinct memory I have was renting a 3 bedroom apartment with 6 guys in order to keep the share of rent low. Some guys had to sleep on air mattresses, futons, or even the floor. The food is a bigger problem in my opinion. Again, unless you had enough outside money to spend on quality food, you weren’t going to be able to afford it. I saw most guys (myself included) live on a diet of fast/cheap food. Also, team provided meals were never great, especially in the lower levels. Yet, we were supposed to be fueling their bodies to perform at the highest level. MLB really needs to consider how they can change this. Though this is a business to them, I truly believe that if they further invest into the players or more resources for the players, they will get a far greater return on the field."
- Tyler Rahmatulla