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Accumulating service time goes hand in hand with Major League Baseball players having successful careers. But doing so now is as difficult as ever. In an interview with Foul Territory, 10-year MLB veteran Tommy Pham said the average player’s service time was under three years in 2024 compared to five and a half years when he broke into MLB in 2014.

With service time gradually decreasing, players reaching free agency is more of an anomaly. It’s why Chris Singleton, a Major League Baseball Players Association special assistant for player programs, said Syracuse University’s partnership with the MLBPA is vital to helping players have post-baseball career success.

“For a professional player who’s either at the end of his career or thinking about transitioning out of the league, a degree from Syracuse University is pretty good to have on your resume with a couple of years playing in Major League Baseball,” Michael Frasciello, dean of SU’s College of Professional Studies, said.

On Feb. 25, SU and the MLBPA announced an agreement to offer industry-specific online degrees, certificates and credentials to current and former MLB players. To pursue a professional baseball career, most athletes forgo college or never graduate. Whether online or at SU’s campuses in New York City, Washington, D.C., or Los Angeles, players now have the chance to enhance their education at the David B. Falk College of Sport, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Martin J. Whitman School of Management and College of Professional Studies.

It joins a recent trend of universities partnering with the MLBPA and Arizona State teaming up with MLB in offering academic programs to current and former players. Falk College Dean Jeremy Jordan said the university hopes to immerse SU students in the professional sports world and make similar connections with other professional sports leagues in the near future.

SU and the MLBPA have no estimated total for enrollment, but Singleton said the new partnership has already demonstrated the MLBPA’s dedication to its members.

“We’re always looking to be of service to our players and to create more opportunities,” Singleton said. “We understand that even though players don’t want to hear this, that you’re going to be a former player a lot longer in life than you were a current player or an active player, and that’s just the reality.”

The average MLB player accumulates less than three years of service time earning roughly the league minimum salary. While the league minimum will be $760,000 in 2025, it’s far from what arbitration-eligible players make.

Once players become arbitration-eligible, a period that lasts from the end of their third year until completing six years of service time, they can begin earning millions for the first time annually before becoming eligible for free agency. However, most players must find a new career path before reaching arbitration.

With players having increasingly shorter careers, the MLBPA began finding ways to add educational benefits to its programs. In spring 2024, Jordan attended a meeting in Philadelphia for an unrelated project when an associate from the MLBPA inquired about possible education providers. The associate asked Jordan if SU had interest in a partnership and he immediately expressed a desire to connect.

The MLBPA also works with career development companies, including Keystone Partners and AthLife, to provide its athletes with post-career options and direction. Connecting with institutions like SU, the companies act as brokers to negotiate partnerships with MLBPA members. Singleton said because of SU’s sports pedigree, the university has already stood out among MLBPA members.

“If I’m looking at going into specific industries, and I see Syracuse is already the top at doing it, that’s going to attract me, and that’s going to allow me to trust those programs more,” Xavier Scruggs, a former MLB player and current broadcaster for MLB Network and ESPN, said.

Leanne Rivera | Staff Photographer

Falk College Dean Jeremy Jordan said the university hopes to immerse SU students in the professional sports world.

MLB Network, MLB’s premiere broadcasting channel for all content, leans on former athletes to provide coverage. Over half of the network’s on-air personalities listed on its website are former MLB players, managers or general managers, with Baseball Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez and likely future first-ballot selection Albert Pujols headlining the talent.

In the ever-changing landscape of sports media, which has seen a mammoth increase in players and former players in the social media era, most begin media careers while only having experience on the field. With added guidance from institutions like SU, the partnership will help former players learn valuable insights.

“I look at myself like, ‘Hey, this was a program that I would love to be a part of,’” Scruggs said. “Just trying to figure out what are things that I can learn to elevate my own experiences and elevate my own game.”

The Major League Baseball Alumni Association, a branch of the MLBPA, has already provided its members with the necessary tools to break into the broadcasting industry. Its annual Career Development Summit provides a training session on transitioning from the diamond to the broadcasting booth, with opportunities to host a mock radio talk show and record reels to showcase to potential employers.

Frasciello said both sides expect to leverage Newhouse’s prominence in the sports industry when pitching the opportunity to MLBPA members, focusing on its professional, executive and professional development. While still in the early stages of development, Singleton said he’s been working with Newhouse Associate Dean Brad Horn to create a three-day broadcasting boot camp to launch as early as fall 2025. The workshop will include roughly eight-to-10 players working with Newhouse professors.

Beyond Newhouse, Jordan said they knew the partnership would need SU’s College of Professional Studies to succeed. Led by Frasciello, he said the school already provides a formula based on its structure.

Hosting non-traditional students like veterans or military families, Frasciello aids a “high-touch” student support system with unique challenges for each circumstance.

In Professional Studies, he said all online programs are designed specifically for adults working full-time and juggling family responsibilities, among others. The programs aren’t as simple as a typical asynchronous education where students log onto a computer on a bus ride, read a few pages and submit an assignment.

Frasciello said SU understands the format may make the program inaccessible to some players, but it’s the standard it sticks to. MLBPA members will still need to apply to the university and be admitted just as any other student.

Whether retired or still finishing their playing careers, most members will be part-time students in the program. Professional Studies has seen similar connections with former SU athletes and Frasciello said it will use its experience with current students to help MLBPA members.

While the partnership is meant primarily for MLBPA members, Jordan said it’ll naturally be advantageous for all Syracuse students — whether undergraduates, graduates or online students. He said Falk College anticipates the collaboration will also allow students to build relationships with Major and Minor-League Baseball teams.

With 30 Major League clubs and over 200 among the five affiliation levels of the minor leagues, Jordan hopes students will work directly with teams during their senior year capstone projects. Singleton similarly said the MLBPA is looking to bring on interns from SU Athletics and leaders from within the players association could also join classes in person or virtually for leadership discussions.

For all parties involved, Jordan said the partnership will enhance professional opportunities in the sports world and provide players with the chance to finish their education. SU, the only Atlantic Coast Conference university without a Division I baseball program, can now tap into the baseball industry on its biggest stage.

“The more that we can get connected to leagues and teams and organizations and events, the more beneficial it is for our students,” Jordan said.

Published on March 6, 2025 at 1:28 am

Contact Justin: justingirshon@gmail.com | @JustinGirshon