Cruz bashes Sanders’s call to stop MLB’s plan to cut some minor league teams

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Tuesday mocked Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) over the progressive senator’s call for Major League Baseball not to cut some minor league teams as had been proposed by the league. 

Cruz retweeted conservative commentator Ben Shapiro’s comments that Sanders is looking to “fight income inequality” in the sport by “requiring” the major leaguers to “distribute their income” to minor leaguers. 

“Ben, that’s not nearly socialist enough,” Cruz tweeted. “By govt mandate, all pitchers must now pitch the average speed—we’ll just redistribute MPH from fast pitchers to the slower pitchers. And no batter will be allowed to hit more than the league average.”

Ben, that’s not nearly socialist enough. By govt mandate, all pitchers must now pitch the average speed—we’ll just redistribute MPH from fast pitchers to the slower pitchers. And no batter will be allowed to hit more than the league average. #FromEachAccordingToHisAbilities https://t.co/3tHQfVGghG

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) November 26, 2019

Sanders did not call on the league to redistribute players’ salaries. Instead, the senator pushed the commissioner to not shut down minor league teams, as well as called for the league to pay minor league players “a living wage” and make it easier for them to join a union. 

The White House hopeful wrote a letter to Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred on Monday arguing against a proposal to cut 42 minor league teams. Sanders said it would be “an absolute disaster for baseball fans, workers and communities throughout the country.” 

He also noted that MLB owners pay minor league players as low as $1,160 a month, which is less than the $7.25 minimum wage, but the 20 wealthiest MLB owners have a combined net worth of more than $50 billion. The average major league team is worth nearly $1.8 billion, he added.

Sanders said the proposal “has nothing to do with what is good for baseball, but it has everything to do with greed.”