May 30th, 2020 at 8:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka A wise man once said: “Good things happen to good people.”
New Dodgers left-hander David Price is in for a lot of good things.
Even though he hasn’t made a single pitch in a Dodgers regular-season game yet, the 34-year-old Murfreesboro, TN native is already a huge favorite among Dodger fans.
Late Thursday evening it was widely reported on Twitter that the five-time All-Star, two-time American League ERA champion, 2012 AL Cy Young award-winner and 2018 World Series champion – whom the Dodgers acquired from the Boston Red Sox on February 10, 2020 (along with future Hall of Fame outfielder Mookie Betts) in the blockbuster trade that sent Alex Verdugo and top prospects Jeter Downs and Connor Wong to Boston – is giving every Dodgers minor leaguer not on the team’s 40-man roster $1,000 for the month of June.
There are 200 such Dodgers minor leaguers.
Additionally, and as a true tell of his character, Price requested the Dodgers not to publicize his intentions. But such a tremendous act of kindness was simply too much for one of those extremely grateful 200, who (thankfully) let the cat out of the bag.
As most baseball fans know, Price signed a (then) record-setting seven-year / $217 million contract with Boston in December of 2015, for which he is (was) to receive $32 million for each of his next three seasons with the Dodgers. Obviously, his salary for 2020 will now be pro-rated due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But because of the pandemic, which resulted in the suspension of play at every level, many minor league players have not received a paycheck since last season. Minor leaguers are not paid during Spring Training but instead receive a $400 weekly stipend. That works out to be $10 per hour based on a 40-hour workweek (Note: The current minimum wage for California employers with 26 or more employees is $13.00 per hour).
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)
Although many MLB teams have already committed to continue paying their minor leaguers beyond May, some have announced that they will end their $400 weekly stipend to their minor leaguers on May 31. As such, a great many minor leaguers are experiencing tremendous financial hardships and dealing with unimaginable stress. Needless to say, Price’s extremely generous commitment to his new minor league teammates comes as an absolute godsend to them.
I don’t know about you, but I have a new favorite Dodger.
Good on you, David Price. Good on you.
Play Ball!
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Just want to give mega kudos to David Price. Any support for the minor leaguers is welcome in my opinion and he put his money where his mouth is. Good on David!
Couldn’t agree more. A lot of guys huff and puff about helping out minor leaguers and some actually do. But no one that I know of has done anything even remotely like this before; and he did so without wanting any fanfare or even recognition. This speaks volumes about the guy.
Truly worthy of wearing the Dodger Blue.