Athletics Call Minor Leaguers' Postgame Meals 'Unacceptable' After Viral Photos

Two photos showing meals served to minor league players in the Oakland Athletics' farm system caught the attention of baseball Twitter on Monday as fans and observers ridiculed the offerings. 

The original tweet, posted by Advocates for Minor Leaguers, shows players being served minuscule amounts of food and calls out the A's for mistreating their employees:

A's president Dave Kaval responded on Twitter saying the offerings were served "several weeks ago" and the team has since terminated its contract with the third-party vendor. Kaval called the situation "totally unacceptable." 

This is far from the first time minor leaguers have taken to social media to highlight the poor playing and living conditions they're subjected to without ever knowing if they'll make it to the big leagues. 

In 2018, then-Yahoo Sports columnist Jeff Passan dug into the way players on the farm have tried to bring attention to their environment by looking into the Instagram account Minor League Grinders, which posts numerous examples every day. 

“That’s the big debate,” Blake McFarland, who started the account, told Passan. “We’re playing something we love to play. We’d rather be nowhere else. At the same time, changes do have to be made. All my friends who have real jobs, if you were to tell them how you live, it doesn’t relate to any other job. You’re not treated as an employee. With that being said, everyone loves playing. We play for the dream.”

Apparently for A's players, that dream included two pieces of white bread with American cheese and a slice of tomato on one day, and a rolled-up tortilla with a few peppers on another. Neither option appears too desirable.