Burlington, Vermont – Minor-league baseball is under siege, but players and fans have a passionate teammate in Bernie Sanders.

The independent senator from Vermont has long been a vocal supporter of minor-league baseball as a vital cultural and recreational outlet for working communities. Sanders has even been known to play a little ball himself, appearing at Iowa's Field of Dreams in August 2019.

It comes as no surprise, then, that the 79-year-old did not take kindly to the MLB's announcement of its new minor-league format, which will result in the loss of 40 teams, including Sanders' local Vermont Lake Monsters.

The politician did not mince words. In a statement released on February 12, Sanders said, "Major League Baseball's announcement to eliminate the Vermont Lake Monsters and 39 other Minor League teams has nothing to do with what is good for baseball and has everything to do with greed."

Sanders continued to point out the discrepancy between the enormous amount of money major-league teams will pay to recruit top athletes versus the amount necessary to maintain the 40 minor-league teams in question.

The senator has a vested interest in the Vermont Lake Monsters, as he was partially responsible for bringing minor-league baseball to the state during his stint as mayor of Burlington.

According to Yahoo! Sports, the issue is not new for Sanders. In 2019, he wrote a letter to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred pointing out the wealth gap between players and team owners. The former generally make less than minimum wage, while the latter are often billionaires.

Over 100 members of Congress signed a letter to Manfred making similar arguments.

Sanders said he will pursue political action if the decision is not overturned: "it's time for Congress to reconsider its anti-trust exemption and rescind the huge tax breaks it has received to build massive baseball stadiums in some of our largest cities," the senator threatened.

Minor-league baseball fans across the country are mourning the MLB's decision. It remains to be seen whether Bernie Sanders can deliver the home run they're hoping for.