Even Big-Bucks MLB'ers Can Be Super-Cheap

[Pink Freud]

Oh, did I say cheap? I meant frugal. I 'm glad the reporters didn't ask them about tipping: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/623643 ... ing-hacks/

[desertrat23]

“Nothing wrong with being cheap.” — Bill DeWitt

[blackinkbiz]

Oh, did I say cheap? I meant frugal. I 'm glad the reporters didn't ask them about tipping: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/623643 ... ing-hacks/

Couldn't read it because don't want another subscription I have to remember and read the fine print on to make sure I'm not auto-debited a month or two from now with a 2000% price increase.

That's why people don't typically like to pay for non-important subscriptions even if it's just $0.50.

[cardsfaninla]

Oh, did I say cheap? I meant frugal. I 'm glad the reporters didn't ask them about tipping: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/623643 ... ing-hacks/

Couldn't read it because don't want another subscription I have to remember and read the fine print on to make sure I'm not auto-debited a month or two from now with a 2000% price increase.

That's why people don't typically like to pay for non-important subscriptions even if it's just $0.50.

ditto
I assume the article pointed out that EVEN rich ppl like to not waste money?
As for tipping .... as someone who worked for tips for years and who tips drivers and waiters and others I am not a fan of ppl's choices when they don't tip. Not that I tip in every jar on every counter at every store, but rich ppl won't go broke chucking a person a few dollars to say thanks for good service.

things to ponder during a lame rainout.....

[brock118]

Oh, did I say cheap? I meant frugal. I 'm glad the reporters didn't ask them about tipping: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/623643 ... ing-hacks/

Couldn't read it because don't want another subscription I have to remember and read the fine print on to make sure I'm not auto-debited a month or two from now with a 2000% price increase.

That's why people don't typically like to pay for non-important subscriptions even if it's just $0.50.

ditto
I assume the article pointed out that EVEN rich ppl like to not waste money?
As for tipping .... as someone who worked for tips for years and who tips drivers and waiters and others I am not a fan of ppl's choices when they don't tip. Not that I tip in every jar on every counter at every store, but rich ppl won't go broke chucking a person a few dollars to say thanks for good service.

things to ponder during a lame rainout.....

No Tippin Scottie Piipin is the worst at this. He wants all his drinks for him and his group paid for at clubs he goes to in Chicago. Says the city owes it to him for what he did for Bulls. Many clubs have told him to get lost.

[ramfandan]

Pro wrestler Andre the Giant , a BIG man , would always pay for thr bar tab when out with others, usually his fellow wrestlers on the road. Known as generous tipper too.
Andre once drank 119 12oz. Bottle if beer during 6 hour period.

He was 7-4 , 550 lbs. then.

[Carp4Cy]

Oh, did I say cheap? I meant frugal. I 'm glad the reporters didn't ask them about tipping: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/623643 ... ing-hacks/

Couldn't read it because don't want another subscription I have to remember and read the fine print on to make sure I'm not auto-debited a month or two from now with a 2000% price increase.

That's why people don't typically like to pay for non-important subscriptions even if it's just $0.50.

This. If all I had to do was slide 2 quarters into a yellow box and take the story out and be done with it, I would. But giving them my credit card not only takes a lot more time on the front end, but it comes with the risk of having to deal with multiple charges or a long term subscription. And it opens me up to another spam angle. I like staying anonymous when possible

[desertrat23]

Oh, did I say cheap? I meant frugal. I 'm glad the reporters didn't ask them about tipping: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/623643 ... ing-hacks/

Couldn't read it because don't want another subscription I have to remember and read the fine print on to make sure I'm not auto-debited a month or two from now with a 2000% price increase.

That's why people don't typically like to pay for non-important subscriptions even if it's just $0.50.

It’s a story about people being cheap. Irony…

[Handsomebachelor]

Oh, did I say cheap? I meant frugal. I 'm glad the reporters didn't ask them about tipping: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/623643 ... ing-hacks/

Couldn't read it because don't want another subscription I have to remember and read the fine print on to make sure I'm not auto-debited a month or two from now with a 2000% price increase.

That's why people don't typically like to pay for non-important subscriptions even if it's just $0.50.

Man regarding to forget about subscriptions to cancel, that (bleep) has happened to me with Amazon prime, doordash free trial, and probably some other stuff lol. Hate when that happens but I've gotten better about reminding myself to cancel all those (bleep) free trial subscriptions before they charge me

[Pink Freud]

Guys, thanks to tech guru Kim Komando and the wonderful newsweekly The Week, I downloaded Rocket Money ($7 per month) and it sniffed out dozens of old memberships, subscriptions, and slyly-masked WTF? billings I didn't even know about, which occur when, in some cases, you merely check the "I've read the terms and conditions" box on any web page, and they're almost impossible to find and even tougher to cancel once you do. That's been a great $7 monthly investment for me. Rocket Money also steps in to negotiate, in some cases, lower rates for those online sites you wish to keep. It's made me much more diligent about checking every line on my bank statements and credit cards, too.

[Pink Freud]

I'm a NYT subscriber with gift privileges, so I honestly thought I was linking you guys to a free article. MEA CULPA! This should be a subscription-free version for you to read in its entirety:

MLB players won’t even pay to read this article: ‘You stay rich by being cheap’ April 4, 2025
In 2009, Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke went viral after telling Yahoo Sports he was boycotting Chipotle’s guacamole. “I mean, $1.50 is already pretty darn high. So they changed it to $1.80, and I’ll never again get guacamole,” Greinke said. “It’s not about the guacamole itself. I just don’t want to let them win.” Fifteen years later, a (small) side of Chipotle’s guacamole is $2.65, and Greinke’s thoughts remain a common sentiment among MLB players. “Greinke was on a kick for a while,” said Reds pitcher Scott Barlow, a former Greinke teammate. “It’s the principle.”

So what else are MLB players cheap about? Well, after The Athletic asked dozens of them the question over the past year, the answer is … pretty much everything. “It’s that old cliche,” said Cleveland’s Steven Kwan, “You stay rich by being cheap.” Some players took issue with the framing of the question. “I don’t like the c-word,” A’s pitcher T.J. McFarland said. “I use frugal.”

You be the judge.

Whit Merrifield, free agent: It’s funny when music is playing in the clubhouse and someone has their phone hooked up and an ad comes on. Guys will yell, “You’re a big leaguer making millions of dollars and can’t pay $11.99 for Spotify?!”

Ryan McMahon, Rockies: My wife is on her cousin’s Spotify, so I use that.

Jake Cronenworth, Padres: I don’t buy any music. It’s a pretty useless purchase. I like to drive in silence. Total silence.

Zach Neto, Angels: I use Apple Music but I’m still on my (cheaper) student account. Don’t tell Apple Music that. It’s the only app I pay for.

Hayden Birdsong, Giants: I’m not paying for any apps. I’m on my mom’s Spotify.

Tyler Glasnow, Dodgers: There’s something about (buying an app). I just don’t want to give them the $2.

Barlow: If I have a game app and it says you can upgrade for no ads, I won’t do that.

Glasnow: It’s probably worth it, too. It’s just ingrained in my brain — like, no, I’m not doing it.

Despite being division rivals last season, former Yankees pitcher Lou Trivino was on Orioles reliever Cole Irvin’s Netflix account.

Tanner Scott, Dodgers: We are definitely still on my wife’s family’s Netflix.

Evan Carter, Rangers: I’m on my wife’s parents’ Netflix and my parents’ Hulu.

McMahon: If you’ve got someone else’s log-in, you’re all set.

McFarland: Up until about two years ago I was on my family cellphone plan. And I wasn’t even paying my parents, it was free. Finally, my dad is like, “You are in the big leagues, time to get your own s—.”

Dansby Swanson, Cubs: I had that moment, too. I needed a new phone and it was a good time to switch my phone number. I was like, “All right, it’s time to get off my parents’ plan.”

Tristan Beck, Giants: That day is coming for me, too. But I’m going to try to avoid it as long as I can.

Matt Strahm, Phillies: I’m not going to just buy new clothes because I want to. I need to need clothes to buy clothes.

Joe Musgrove, Padres: You know how in elementary school you get to go back to school shopping and you get a few pairs of jeans and a couple T-shirts to last you the year? I’m still the same way.

McFarland: I’m coming in with shoes literally coming apart — the sole was coming off. My wife was like, “That’s enough.” She took them and threw them out.

Derek Law, Nationals: My wife is like, “You need to get some new shirts,” and I’m like, “Ehh, I’m good.”

Ryan Mountcastle, Orioles: I never need new clothes.

Mike Yastrzemski, Giants: I don’t buy clothes, I don’t buy shoes. I get very weirdly indecisive about things. I’ll be like, “I want this,” and then I’ll turn around 10 minutes later and be like, “Well, what’s going to change if I buy this? Nothing.” So then I’m like, “I guess I don’t need this,” and I move on.

Strahm: I’m very simple and cheap with clothes. There is black, white and gray in my closet, just plain T-shirts.

Craig Kimbrel, Braves: I’ll wear stuff out.

Kwan: Socks, undershirts, that stuff I will ride until the end.

Musgrove: I’ll wear it until I can’t wear it anymore.

Mountcastle: Until it literally has holes in it.

Kwan: I had a pillow for 10 years that my now-wife was totally disgusted by. She’s like “You can get a new one!” and I was like “Why? I don’t need a new one.” One day she took the cover off and said, “You need to look at this, it’s disgusting.” And it was. I did end up throwing it away my first year up here. It made it to the big leagues, though.

Seth Lugo, Royals: I hate paying for shipping.

Austin Riley, Braves: There was something — it was a hunting gadget, it was like $6, and the shipping was $8. And I was like, “I’ll just go buy it somewhere.”

Jesse Chavez, Braves: And a “processing fee.”… Processing? Where did that come from?

McFarland: When you use DoorDash and it’s an extra couple bucks to have someone deliver the food to you, I tell my wife, “No way, we are picking it up.”

Lugo: Go get it yourself. I’m not ordering stuff (to get delivered).

McFarland: Sure, it’s 15-20 minutes to go pick it up and you are probably spending that money on gas, but (delivery) is something I am not OK wasting money on.

Jesse Winker, Mets: I feel like Uber’s prices have gotten out of control, so if I can’t walk somewhere, I’ll rent a scooter for a fraction of the price.

Clay Holmes, Mets: I’m cheap about flights. You fly so much with the team you never even think about it, then you go to book flights in the offseason, and it’s like, “I got to pay this much to fly?”

Jameson Taillon, Cubs: I have a hard time paying for extra legroom. I can afford to fly first class or in an exit row, but I feel like I’m getting punished for being tall, so I refuse to upgrade my seat.

Triston McKenzie, Guardians: I look at first-class seats, but I don’t ever buy them.

Matt Vierling, Tigers: I still drive my car from college. It’s a 2012 Ford Escape. It broke down on the highway on me (in September).

Birdsong: I’ve got a 2015 Ford Fusion.

Paul Sewald, Guardians: I had my first car, a Toyota 4Runner, for 13 years in the big leagues, and only upgraded in 2021 because we got pregnant and needed a bigger car.

Vierling: I was driving an even older car before. (The Escape) was used when I got it; it had like 65,000 miles on it. Now it’s got like 172,000, and we are still rolling. I am going to try to ride it out for another year. I got everybody in my family saying, It’s not safe, you should get another car. And I’m just like, “Not yet. I will ride it until it dies.”

Birdsong: I was a sixth-rounder, I’ll keep it till it breaks, and it’s pretty close. It’s got 140-150,000 miles on it.

Sewald: I’ve got a Ford Expedition now. It’s not fancy. It’s pretty much a dad car.

Birdsong: Maybe I’ll get a Prius next.

Kwan: I still don’t own a car. I lease one and do some (promotional stuff) for the company, and they pay for it. That saves a lot of money.

Kyle Gibson, Orioles: When I was in college, my junior year (2009), I needed a 60-degree lob wedge. So I went to Walmart, and bought a $19.99 wedge. I still have that club, and I have yet to buy a new one because I love it. The grip is ripped badly, the shaft of the club is completely rusted out. Whenever I golf with somebody new, they see me pull it out of my bag and they go, “What are you doing?”

Yastrzemski: I have the same clubs I’ve had for four years that I got for free anyway. I called my agent because I cracked my driver face and said, “Hey, do you know anyone who can send me a driver? I don’t care what it is.” I didn’t want to buy it. … I did buy a new putter recently. It took me a year and a half to pull the trigger on it.

Chavez stayed near a lake during the All-Star break with teammate A.J. Minter and their families. There were eight people total, and they filled up a cart, mainly with fruit and vegetables. It was $600.

Chavez: I’m also a big stickler at the grocery store. … Where did this (bill) come from?

Law: Groceries are crazy.

McFarland: I will look at the store, and it’s like, “OK, if it’s 60 cents less, I am getting the generic brand.”

Emilio Pagàn, Reds: Even if it’s 40 cents cheaper.

McKenzie, Guardians: If I need medicine, I’m definitely getting Target brand ibuprofen.

Law: If the strawberries say they’re two for $7, I’m going to get two strawberries because I feel like I’m saving money. Am I? Probably not, because they made me buy two now.

Jake Diekman, free agent: The other day at self-checkout I was like, where are all the bags? And the lady said you have to buy them. It was wild. I only bought two, though.

Law: Most of the time you forget the bags that you’re supposed to bring. And it’s like, (bleep), I am not paying 10 cents.

Kwan: I don’t like paying for snacks. I have my little Lulu(lemon) bag and it’s like a trick-or-treat (in the clubhouse) every day. Usually it’s spilling out the brim. I’ve got free waters and these sweet Thai chili almonds I’ve been absolutely emptying out.

Winker: The price of water has gone way too high. We get so used to just being able to grab water (in the clubhouse). Then in the offseason you go buy water and you’re like, “This water is this expensive?”

Dustin May, Dodgers: I’m not saying I don’t load up (on the free waters). I definitely do.

Neto: I won’t pay for water bottles. Before I leave here, I will take a couple home with me to drink.

McFarland: The same guys walking out of here with tons of free water bottles have no problem spending $25,000 on a Rolex.

Manny Machado, Padres: I won’t spend money on a wine (at a restaurant) that they charge you 800 percent (markup) on. I’ll just go home and drink my own wine or bring my own wine.

Pagan: For the longest time, my diet included a lot of Taco Bell. Crunch Wrap Supreme is hard to beat. That helped my cheap mindset, but now I’m getting older and can’t eat that as much.

Machado: I like wine, but the value’s got to be there. I’m a value guy.

Diekman: You have to go to Costco, the No. 1 seller of wine in the world. I feel like everyone trying to save should go to Costco, grab yourself a hot dog and get some wine.

Kwan: You got to buy in bulk. I’m not playing around going to get toothpaste five or six times. I’m going to get the 10-pack and let that ride out.

Logan O’Hoppe, Angels: Don’t hate me, but even though it’s a dollar, I refuse to pay for The Athletic. Even if my name is in it, my ego gets in the way and I don’t want to pay for it.

McKenzie: I did finally subscribe. (Guardians beat writer Zack) Meisel got me to. He was like, it’s only a dollar! But I did hold out for a little bit.

O’Hoppe: I am not paying that (bleep) dollar. It’s the principle. I will read the first paragraph before the paywall. So, I guess I’m too cheap to read this article.

— The Athletic’s Katie Woo, Dennis Lin, David O’Brien and Patrick Mooney contributed to this story.

[Cranny]

A dollar saved is a dollar earned.

[desertrat23]

You guys must be a blast at parties.

[rockondlouie]

I'm not sure what Grienke and other MLB players were whining about when they're given a daily per diem, that's right players making minimum high six figures, most making seven and eight figures still get a per diem for food when on road trips!

In 2025:
The daily per diem for players will be $117.50 per day for in-season meal and tip allowance when on the road if the club does not provide a meal. If the club does provide a meal, the per diem is $34.50. If the game is postponed within two hours of scheduled first pitch, the per diem is $34.50.

Cheap a z z e s