Bernie Sanders tweets teachers should be paid 'at least $60,000' if Gerrit Cole can make $324 million

Chris Bumbaca | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Gerrit Cole signs a record breaking $324 million deal with the Yankees USA TODAY Sports' Bob Nightengale breaks down how Gerrit Cole's addition to the Yankees makes them the team to beat.

Bernie Sanders is using baseball's lucrative off-season to point out proposed policy changes.

The Vermont senator and Democratic presidential candidate highlighted the record-breaking contract Gerrit Cole signed with the New York Yankees to point to teachers' inadequate wages. Cole's contract is the largest ever for a pitcher by a wide margin.

"If pitchers can make $324 million, we can pay every teacher in this country at least $60,000," Sanders' official account tweeted.

The salary of $60,000 is consistent in Sanders' argument. On his campaign's official website, a goal under his "reinvesting in public education" issue statement is "give teachers a much-deserved raise by setting a starting salary for teachers at no less than $60,000, expanding collective bargaining rights and teacher tenure, and funding out-of-pocket expenses for classroom materials."

If pitchers can make $324 million, we can pay every teacher in this country at least $60,000. https://t.co/u6rPy9uI3j — Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) December 14, 2019

Sanders also has been involved in the battle between minor league clubs and MLB. The league is advocating for a plan that would reorganize the minors and eliminate 42 clubs. Sanders wrote a scathing letter to commissioner Rob Manfred about the issue and the two met last week to assure that the league is committed to a good faith negotiation "that would maintain professional baseball in the 42 communities while addressing concerns about facilities, working conditions and wages for minor league players."