Minor League Baseball Players Take A Swing At MLB In Antitrust Suit

Several minor league baseball players have filed an antitrust class action against Major League Baseball, alleging that MLB and its teams operate as a cartel to impose restrictive contracts on minor league players. The suit, Miranda v. Selig, alleges that the league's anticompetitive conduct has artificially lowered wages for the approximately 6,000 minor league baseball players employed by the league, resulting in some minor leaguers earning as little as $3,000 per year.

This antitrust suit follows on the heels of other lawsuits filed earlier this year by minor and major league baseball players who challenge MLB's wage and hour practices under the Fair Labor Standards Act and various state wage laws. The plaintiffs in Miranda make allegations similar to those in the prior lawsuits, but seek remedies—including treble damages and injunctive relief—under the Sherman Act and Clayton Act for the MLB's allegedly anticompetitive conduct.