The spirit of cooperation certainly wasn’t the overriding sentiment from dueling statements issued by Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association on Saturday night. Quite the opposite, the tension between the sides seemed palpable.
While disappointing and maddening to many baseball followers, the disagreement also appears to have cleared the way for a season to get underway. Though that season will feature fewer games that might have been possible if the sides were able to reach common ground in a more timely manner.
Their failure to reach an agreement on compensation for players and the length of a season, one likely played without fans amid a global pandemic which has already taken more than 400,000 lives worldwide, means MLB commissioner Rob Manfred will likely unilaterally schedule an abbreviated season in accordance with the terms agreed upon by the sides on March 26.
Details still must be ironed out such as the number of games — probably in or around 50 — and the health and safety protocols still need final touches as the COVID-19 coronavirus remains an ever-present reality across the country.
Kansas City Royals All-Star Whit Merrifield took to Twitter on Saturday night in an attempt to interject a measure of optimism. Merrifield responded to a tweet from longtime baseball writer Jayson Stark of The Athletic.
Stark’s tweet painted a dark picture for the future of the sport in light of the arduous and ultimately unfruitful back and forth between the MLB and MLBPA. Stark’s tweet included an unattributed comment, “I can’t see a single ray of sunshine.”
Merrifield tweeted in response, “I can. Baseball is coming back. That’s a fact. And it’s such a beautiful game. While the business of it may suck sometimes, that doesn’t take away from the beauty of the game we love and miss. ‘Distance makes the heart grow fonder.’”
The March 26 agreement between MLB and the MLBPA simultaneously provides the framework for Manfred to impose a shortened season and sits as the center of the contentious negotiations which have been ongoing for several weeks and appeared to break-off in a stalemate this weekend.
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The union and MLB agreed players would receive a full prorated portion of their contracts if a season took place as part of the March deal.
The latest proposal from MLB to the union, as reported by the Associated Press, featured a 72-game schedule beginning July 14. MLB offered players 80% of their prorated salaries — 70% during the regular season and the rest for completion of the postseason — under the plan given to the union Friday.
MLBPA executive director Tony Clark’s statement in response on Saturday night stressed that the players want to play as soon and as safely as possible and made “billions in monetary concessions.” He also referenced “repeated media links and misdirection” from the owners.
“In recent days, owners have decried the supposed unprofitability of owning a baseball team and the Commissioner has repeatedly threatened to schedule a dramatically shortened season unless players agree to hundreds of millions in further concessions,” ‘Clark said in his statement.
“Our response has been consistent that such concessions are unwarranted, would be fundamentally unfair to players, and that our sport deserves the fullest 2020 season possible. These remain our positions today, particularly in light of new reports regarding MLB’s national television rights – information we requested from the league weeks ago but were never provided.
“As a result, it unfortunately appears that further dialogue with the league would be futile. It’s time to get back to work. Tell us when and where.”
