Voters Support Senator Sanders’ Save American Baseball Act
By Sabrina Jacobs and Ahmad Ali
Major League Baseball eliminated more than 40 minor league affiliates in 2020. The move to cut these teams raised more concerns about MLB’s unique antitrust exemption, which hinders other U.S. baseball leagues from competing with MLB and also limits teams from moving to different markets. The exemption further enables MLB to pay minor leaguers poverty wages — although some argue that without such an exemption, MLB would not subsidize minor league salaries at all.
Senator Bernie Sanders and other federal lawmakers have criticized this antitrust exemption as a means for MLB to restrain talent and maintain its dominant presence in professional baseball. The Save American Baseball Act, reintroduced by Sanders in March of this year, would end the antitrust exemption for MLB.
A new poll by Data for Progress finds 47 percent of all voters had not heard or read about the negotiations between MLB players and league officials during baseball's offseason. Forty-seven percent of voters think that other baseball leagues should be allowed to compete with MLB in the U.S., including 41 percent of Republicans, 49 percent of Independents, and 51 percent of Democrats.
Data for Progress also finds that 48 percent of voters support Sanders’ Save American Baseball Act, including Democrats by a +24-point margin, Independents by a +29-point margin, and Republicans by a +11-point margin.
Many U.S. professional sports leagues, such as the MLB, NHL, NFL, and NBA, have players' associations. These unions are crucial for professional athletes to be represented on issues like length of seasons, salaries, and athlete safety. Seventy-six percent of Democrats, 65 percent of Independents, and 47 percent of Republicans support unions for professional athletes.
Sanders’ Save American Baseball Act is supported across party lines and will go a long way toward ending the antitrust exemption and supporting professional baseball players.
Sabrina Jacobs (@bri_jacobs) is a digital fellow at Data for Progress.
Ahmad Ali (@RealAhmadAli) is Press Secretary at Data for Progress.