A's reverse course, will pay minor leaguers

OAKLAND - A’s owner John Fisher has decided to pay his team’s minor league players after all, saying he made a mistake.

Club spokeswoman Catherine Aker confirmed Fisher’s plans Friday, when the San Francisco Chronicle first reported the billionaire’s intentions and quoted his apology. Fisher also is establishing a fund to help furloughed employees, Aker said.

Late last month, the A’s placed their scouts and a significant number of other front office employees on furlough, suspended pay for minor leaguers and cut the salaries of other executives as part of a cost-cutting move in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I concluded I’d made a mistake,” Fisher told the Chronicle.

Minor leaguers will receive their $400 weekly stipends through what would have been the conclusion of their season.

Fisher, whose family founded the clothing retailer Gap, is worth more than $2 billion, Forbes estimated.