By Ron Wynn
NASHVILLE, TN — Former Vanderbilt star and Cy Young Award winner David Price is doing his part to help minor league players. Their lives and careers have been negatively affected by the suspension of the Major League season due to the pandemic. Price, traded this past offseason from the Boston Red Sox to the Los Angeles Dodgers, has pledged to personally give $1,000 to each minor leaguer in the Dodger organization. That covers 220 players. This will be in addition to the $400 a month they are now receiving from the Dodgers organization, a payment that only runs through June.
Price is a native of Murfreesboro and is in his 13th season. He and Mookie Betts, a Nashville native, both went to the Dodgers as the Red Sox decided to trade two of their highest paid and best players. Betts is a former American League MVP. Price is the National League’s third highest paid pitcher, having signed a seven-year, $215 million dollar deal with the Red Sox in 2015. A team spokesman publicly announced Price’s actions Saturday. His father Ronnie told the Daily News Journal that the move was a reflection of Price’s current economic status plus his background.
“It’s good he’s doing it,” Ronnie Price said. “He’s in a situation where he can help people. He’s always tried to do that here in his hometown. To help people is a good thing and that’s how he was raised.” The fate of the minor leagues remains uncertain. Owners and players are locked in a battle over salaries that threatens to unravel plans to restart the season in July. Owners proposed an 82-game season with expanded playoffs, but wanted players to take larger pay cuts rather than the pro-rated salaries previously agreed upon in March. Players recently proposed a 100-game season with the pro-rated salaries as part of the deal.
As of press time, no agreement had been reached. But Price’s action will take place whatever the outcome of the talks.