Far from glamorous majors, minor leaguers pinch pennies
Two days after the New York Mets took him in the 19th round of the baseball draft this June, Gary Cornish boarded a 6:40 a.m. flight from Phoenix to John F. Kennedy Airport, took his physical and checked into his new home, the Red Lion Inn & Suites in downtown Brooklyn.
Cornish agreed to a $10,000 signing bonus and was assigned to the Cyclones of the Class A New York-Penn League. Like most new minor leaguers, his initial salary is $1,100 a month. After a $100 deduction for hotel housing, $40 in clubhouse dues to pay the equipment kids and taxes, the 21-year-old pitcher’s biweekly take-home pay is about $380, less than the cost of some Mets premium tickets at Citi Field.