Spring is here and baseball has begun with the proverbial crack of the bat and roar of the crowd.

But this season will be a little bit different for Minor League Baseball players across the state thanks to a new contract agreement.

The deal is a historic milestone for players. Late last month, the Major League Players Association voted to approve a first-of-its-kind union contract between its minor league player members and Major League Baseball.

Across New York, minor league players say they’re excited to get back to work.

“It's a huge kind of first step for us, and I think it's the result of a lot of work and a lot of frustration in the past with a lot of guys that have been in our shoes," said JT Schwartz, first basemen for the Binghamton Rumble Ponies. "So we're kind of reaping the rewards of a lot of years and a lot of hard work. And the people that came before us.”

The agreement has been years in the making. It picked up steam recently as discussions around pay and working conditions for minor leaguers gained more attention.

Spencer Jones, a first-round pick for the New York Yankees who will now play outfield for the Hudson Valley Renegades, said he’s ready for a great season.

“Just playing every day, you know?" Jones said. "That's the one thing that I don't know what's going to, what it's going to look like, what it's going to feel like. It'll just be, you know, managing those aches and pains and being able to sustain over, you know, 100 games or so.”

He’s heard from minor league veterans that before the collective bargaining agreement (CBA), they fitted the bill for a lot of things. So now, knowing that he and his fellow players finally have protections under a CBA gives him a safety net while he chases his dreams of getting to the major leagues.

“I feel like minor leaguers deserve to be living as professional athletes," Jones said. "There should be no excuse for that. And, you know, I'm proud that a lot of the minor leaguers were able to work out and figure this out for everybody.”

The new agreement lasts from 2023 to 2027. The contract includes better benefits and pay, improvements to the minor league housing policy and the ability for players to profit off their name, image and likeness.

“You know, a lot of those guys with growing families and just smaller bonuses, it's a lot harder for them to stay focused and treat this as their sole job when they have to do other stuff and take care of other business off the field," said Dominic Hamel, a pitcher for Binghamton Rumble Ponies. "Because they don't have that type of help.”

A new deal allowing for better working conditions is something many of these players call a home run. Major league owners voted unanimously to approve the minor league CBA on Monday, officially ratifying the agreement.