MLB, MLBPA Trying to Avoid Mutually Assured Destruction
Major League Baseball has been on pause since March 12, which was two weeks before its scheduled Opening Day on March 26. Since that point, we’ve seen all kinds of different concepts kicked around by both sides and eventually shot down by the opposite group. The owners pitched an 82-game schedule and a sliding pay scale. That was turned down by the players, who countered with a 114-game schedule with full prorated salaries. The owners turned around and rejected that proposal and stated that they wouldn’t have a counter earlier this week. Meanwhile, the players’ association stated that they will not accept any further pay cuts and that appears to be the proverbial hill they’re willing to die on so to speak.
So, as the two sides seem to continue their road toward mutually assured destruction, should we expect anything to change the outlook for this season or will baseball speed toward its darkest time since the 1994 strike? MLBPA executive director Tony Clark had this to say about the situation:
“The overwhelming consensus of the Board is that Players are ready to report, ready to get back on the field, and they are willing to do so under unprecedented conditions that could affect the health and safety of not just themselves, but their families as well. The league’s demand for additional concessions was resoundingly rejected.”
On the plus side, players are still slated to return to spring training in the next couple of weeks to prepare for the season, regardless of what takes place on the schedule front. The plan, at least at the moment, is to see some sort of schedule, be it the 48 to 54 game slate that Rob Manfred could implement on his own merits after the agreement that was struck back in March. It’s going to be interesting to see if either side will give ground in the coming days to try and reach an agreement that both sides can agree on going forward to get back on the field.
As it stands, Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, announced last month that sporting events in that state could have fans attend at up to 25 percent capacity of their venues. That means that the Astros and Rangers could conceivably have at least some fans in the crowd for their home games, which would provide at least some additional revenue. It’s unclear if other states will follow suit by the time the eventual season gets underway or not. If so, that could lead to a potential shift because there wouldn’t be as much money lost on a per-game basis by the owners.
Someone is going to have to give in this situation if we’re to see any kind of meaningful season on the diamond in major league baseball this season. There has been a lot of lines in the sand and rhetoric on both sides about how they’re right and the other group is wrong. The bottom line here is that the fact remains that both sides have valid points and both are misguided in some of their thought processes. Here’s hoping that things unfold in a positive manner and things get back to some sense of normal so we can have baseball in the coming weeks. They say in a compromise, both sides are at least a little upset because they don’t get everything they want. If that takes place here, I think everyone will go away grumbling but satisfied.