Braves GM to aspiring workers: 'Don't worry about the money'

With the offseason in full swing, and baseball news at a bit of a halt, the Atlanta Braves decided to try and cheer up their fans by offering a Twitter chat with general manager John Coppolella.

For the most part, the experiment went really well. Coppolella was honest, and didn’t shy away from answering tough questions. We say “for the most part” because there was one answer that did not go over well with many following along.

When one aspiring worker asked Coppolella for some advice about breaking into the industry, Coppolella responded by saying “don’t worry about the money.”

The responses to that answer were not pleasant.

Before digging into those responses, it’s important to try and understand what Coppolella was trying to say here. He’s not necessarily saying work for free, he’s saying focus more on your experiences, learn from them and work hard. Those things may wind up being more valuable than your salary.

In some situations, that might be good advice. But it rings hollow if you’re familiar with how baseball internships or entry level positions usually work. Take a look at this job posting for a Detroit Tigers internship from November 2015. You’ll note that the team requires quite a bit in the qualifications area. The Tigers want someone who has already graduated, has intimate knowledge of database software, understands how to code and is willing to work “longs hours, including days, nights, weekends and holidays.”

Now, that position is actually compensated (most of the jobs posted on FanGraphs offer compensation). Many similar baseball jobs do not offer compensation, but ask for the same requirements.

What that means, and what some of the tweets above hint at, is that you have to be in a really fortunate situation to be able to take an entry level job in baseball. Basically, you need to already have money, or be in a position where someone else can support you while you try to work your way up. Few can actually make that situation work, as college loans, car payments and rent are all pretty important. The way baseball is currently set up, only the most privileged people are able to take these positions.

Also, it’s not like baseball is hurting for cash. Baseball teams are worth a lot of money. They hand out massive contracts to players every day. And, in the Braves case, they somehow convinced the people of Atlanta to build them a stadium. They can afford to pay their workers more, but they don’t.

There are reasons for that, of course. Working in baseball is desirable. People want to do it, and are willing to work for peanuts just to get their foot in the door. Baseball doesn’t have to offer more money with its internships or entry level jobs because it will always have people fighting over them. There will never be a shortage of candidates for a job in baseball.

At the very least, Coppolella’s comments were honest. If you want to work in baseball, you can’t be concerned with the money. That’s going to weed out a lot of candidates, many of who have the qualifications, but aren’t able to make ends meet on a low salary. That’s the sad reality of the game operates, and it’s not likely to change any time soon.

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik