More than a dozen former MLB scouts have filed a lawsuit against the league, its teams and commissioner Rob Manfred, alleging they were discriminated against based on their age.
In all, 17 people filed the lawsuit in the US District Court in Denver, citing the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 along with laws in 11 states and New York City.
The scouts’ ages range from 55 to 71, and they say the league and its teams «acted to prevent the re-signing of older scouts or declined to re-sign older scouts» between 2020 and 2022.
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A general view of the MLB logo in the cover circle during the game between the New York Mets and Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on July 5, 2022 in Cincinnati. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
The former scouts also allege that MLB removed a list of scouts eligible for employment in 2015, the decision to terminate MLB’s Office of Scouting in 2018 was discriminatory, and MLB used analytics and the coronavirus pandemic as pretexts to remove senior scouts.
They also say that an MLB provision that offsets scouts’ salaries when they sign with a new team, but still pays them from a previous team from which they were fired, is discriminatory.
«This lawsuit is about age discrimination in a sport that supposedly values history, tradition and putting the best possible product on the field,» attorney Mitchell C. Abeita of Kilgore & Kilgore said in a statement.
Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred speaks during a news conference after negotiations with the players’ association to reach a labor agreement, Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
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MLB said in a statement that it hopes to «disprove these claims in court,» but does not comment on pending litigation.
Former Chicago Cubs scout James S. Benedict is leading the charge: He was fired by the Cubs in 2020 and they are seeking class action certification.
The MLB logo on a Boston Red Sox uniform during the game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on September 9, 2022 in Baltimore. (G Fiume/Getty Images)
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Benedict played minor league baseball and was a college pitching coach before becoming a scout for the Texas Rangers in 1990. He also had roles with the Montreal Expos, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Cleveland, Pirates Pittsburgh and the Miami Marlins. He most recently was the special assistant for baseball operations for the Cubs.
Associated Press contributed to this report.