It’s going to take a lot more than WD-40 to rehabilitate the hideous showers at Canal Park, home of the Double-A Akron RubberDucks since 1997. Rhett Wiseman of the Harrisburg Senators (farm team of the Washington Nationals) shared this alarming photo Thursday, calling attention to the horribly neglected bathroom facilities in Akron.
Commenters on Twitter—including a number of current and former players—were horrified at what they saw, blasting the RubberDucks for subjecting players to such revolting conditions.
Advocates for Minor Leaguers, a Twitter account devoted to fighting on behalf of mistreated players throughout minor-league baseball (many of them subject to shamefully low wages, cramped housing and unappetizing clubhouse food), called the showers “unacceptable” while condemning both the RubberDucks and their parent club, the Cleveland Indians, for allowing this unconscionable decay.
When MLB announced the contraction of 40 minor-league teams this past offseason, many assumed that money was going to facility improvements and other changes benefiting minor-league players. But that has not been the case with continued horror stories of destitute players sleeping in cars (seen as a cheaper alternative to staying in team hotels), shacking up in ratty apartments with five or more teammates, eating disgusting food and otherwise struggling to make ends meet.
Though it’s heartbreaking to see photos like this, it’s important for players like Wiseman to share their story, reporting on the harsh realities minor-leaguers face on a daily basis. Even with baseball facing financial hardships of its own amid declining television viewership (MLB’s reported flirtation with Barstool Sports would suggest as much) and revenue lost from COVID, you can understand why some would question the optics of a billionaire owner tweeting from his luxury suite while players in Akron can’t even get a decent shower.
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