Bitter Cup Baseball
By any measure, these former ballplayers have demonstrated a legacy and responsibility built on equity, loyalty and fair play.
2022 MLBPA CBA Update: Sources cited by New York Times have indicated that the stipend will increase by 15% for the next five years 2022 through 2027 and is not guaranteed after that time. So after 2027, MLB and MLBPA may choose to abandon these men yet again.
The increase is now $718.75 annually for every 43 days on an active roster, up to a maximum of $11,500 per year. This is roughly 15% of the current MLBPA pension.
In contrast, a vested 1980+ MLB retiree with 43 days of MLB service time would have a pension worth approximately $5,600 annually and can designate a beneficiary. The death benefit is 50% of pension for the remainder of the benficiary’s life.
This stipend is pre-tax money for all eligible MLB retirees from 1947-1979 with 43 days but less than 4 years of service time. Regrettably, there is no death benefit like the MLBPA pension.
Most of the media ignores this story. Your voice, your socials and your talents can help spread the word.
Big thank you to The Knee Jerks podcast and Nick Milanovich, Greg Eno and Al Beaton. Appreciate the opportunity to talk about the 500+ pre-1980 MLB players without a pension.
Check out the conversation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dYTxBHX9oA&t=23s
Gary Cooper is technical not a “bittercup” ballplayer though his 1980 season was 42 confirmed days, so he does not receive a pension. He was on the Atlanta Braves roster with a rainout that was never played and would have made him pension eligible. The story and petition have picked up traction and now is receiving mainstream attention.
Cooper shares the plight of the pre-1980 non-vested MLB players and hopes to share the attention of his story to shine light on theirs. We hope that he can be signed as a uniformed personnel coach so that he can receive a pension. The Savannah, GA community has rallied to his cause and it is a tribute to his character. Cooper still embodies a legacy and responsibility built on equity, loyalty and fair play.
Former pitcher, Gary Neibauer, wants MLB and MLBPA to take care of all its former players
https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/former-pitcher-wants-league-take-care-all-former-players
Card by @wthballs
Most of the media ignores this story. Your voice, your socials and your talents can help spread the word.
The story is this: In the 1980 MLBPA CBA agreement, players from 1947-79, who were not vested, were cut of out receiving pension and benefits under the new agreement which significantly lowered service time requirements. It gets a little complicated from there; however, there are over 500 still alive who would have been pension eligible had they been on the roster for a single game after April 1, 1980. Both MLB and the MLBPA can correct this.
The Bitter Cup List Spreadsheet
Multiple tab spreadsheet with player data for the following:
- More than 43 days and less than 4 years MLB service time.
- Less than 43 days of MLB service time.
- By MLB teams with impacted former players.
- Deceased since this sheet started in 2022.
Link to Spreadsheet: Bitter Cup List
Player profiles on Instagram and Twitter