MLB: 33 Players Reached 10 Years In 2022

In the first five months of the current season, more than thirty players have crossed the goal of 10 years of service in the Major Leagues, according to the public count carried out by the players’ union.

Starting with the 2021 season, the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) announces the names of the new members of the exclusive “Club 10” on a monthly basis. In the month of August, seven players graduated to bring the total for the year to 33.

In a sport-business where numbers are the basis of everything, reaching 10 years of service is the highest aspiration. The reason is simple: Only players with 10 years of service have access to receive a full pension, which currently exceeds $200,000 annually, after their retirement from productive life.

“Ten years of Major League service is the holy grail for players,” the MLBPA said.

“Throughout baseball history, fewer than 10 percent of players have achieved the combination of talent, health, resilience, perseverance and good fortune to accomplish the feat,” the union added.

The MLBPA recommends that players apply for their pension at age 62 to have access to their full money ($245,000 annually, currently), but in reality, players can start collecting their pension in reduced installments as soon as they turn 45 .

Although MLB is one of the industries that pays its employees (the players, in this case) the best, not everyone has their future guaranteed when the harsh demands of the business force them to retire.

After the MLBPA and MLB agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement this year, the average salary of players jumped from $4.17 million in 2021 to $4.41 million in 2022, according to an analysis published by the Associated Press (AP) in April. In the new labor agreement, it was established that the MLB minimum salary would rise to $700,000 thousand in 2022 (from $570,500 in 2021), and up to $780,000 by 2026, the last year of the agreement.

New York Mets pitcher Max Scherzer, leads the list of the highest-paid players of the year with $43.3 million. Another 14 players earn at least $30 million, 49 earn $20 million and up and 129 make up the group with salaries above $10 million.

But most players don’t have access to that kind of compensation, even if they enjoy relatively long runs. The current average of an MLB career is around five years, one below what is required to reach free agency (at least six years of service), which is when the player’s most productive stage begins, from an economic point of view. .

That is why the pension fund is so important to protect players when they are not generating income and, in the same order, to reach 10 years of service to be able to opt for the maximum that the program contemplates.

These are the players who have crossed the 10-year service mark this season.

April 11): Zack Britton, Josh Donaldson, Bryce Harper, Josh Harrison, Greg Holland, Martin Maldonado, David Phelps, michael pineda, Garrett Richards, Anthony Rizzo Y Bryan Shaw.