House Seeks To Save Minor League Baseball With Resolution

Congress is proposing a resolution that would stop Major League Baseball from eliminating 42 minor league franchises from its system. The proposed legislation comes amid a year-long war between Major League Baseball and the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, the organization that governs minor league baseball. At the center of the battle is the looming expiration of The Professional Baseball Agreement, which keeps MLB and the NAPBL working together.

CBS reports that upon expiration, 13 would cease operations and 29 would lose their MLB affiliation. Congress is swooping in to try and preserve the agreement and further enrich the fabric international minor league ball. They join fans and players alike in their criticism of the proposed cuts.

Several House members have introduced a resolution trying to talk MLB out of the dissolution of the relationship. The bipartisan group includes Reps. Lori Trahan, D-Mass.; David McKinley, R-W. Va.; Max Rose, D-N.Y.; and Mike Simpson, R- Idaho.

"Minor League Baseball teams have had a major impact on small communities. These teams provide an enormous cultural and economic benefit to the communities they call home," McKinley said in a statement. "Doing away with 42 teams is not a reasonable solution."

The text stated that the House "supports the preservation of minor league baseball in 160 American communities" and it "recognizes the unique social, economic, and historic contributions that minor league baseball has made to American life and culture."

The MLB Commissioner’s Office responded with a statement saying that the best thing Congress can do is to encourage Minor League Baseball to return to the bargaining table, so they can work together to address the real issues impacting minor league players and communities all across the country.

Congress can very well leverage the antitrust exemption over Major League Baseball to convince key players in the conversation. It was ruled in 1922 that MLB is exempt from the Sherman Antitrust Act because it does not constitute interstate commerce.