After a lost season in 2020, minor league baseball is back this year. And some teams have had an easier time than others with ramping back up.
The club with the biggest head start? The Iowa Cubs, the AAA affiliate of Major League Baseball’s Chicago Cubs. Where most minor league clubs furloughed staff or laid them off last year, Iowa owner Michael Gartner kept his entire full-time staff on full pay and benefits.
“We lost $4 million,” Gartner told the Des Moines Register. “But they needed the money more than I did.”
It was an act of generosity, for sure. But it also had a pay-off for Gartner and the Cubs. As other clubs scrambled to rehire employees and fill vacant positions, Iowa got down to business. “I didn’t really have to do anything,” said Gartner. “I’ve got all these great people who work here.”
