baseball

MLB: Baseball is guaranteed in 2020, but in what capacity?

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As the MLB negotiations with the players association have continued to drag on, an Opening Day of July 4th is slipping away. We were all hoping a deal would be in place by now, but we still seem to be far from one. This is scaring everyone into thinking that there won’t be a 2020 baseball season, at all. However, baseball is a guarantee in 2020. The question is, in what capacity?

The prorated salary deal

One of the biggest things that we’ve talked about over the last few months is the prorated salaries that players agreed upon in March. This means they get paid according to how long the season is. If they play half the season, they get half pay. The big catch with the agreement is that the commissioner can implement a season of any length, as long as players are getting prorated salaries.

Right now, the MLB seems to only be willing to play 50 games for players to get prorated salaries. They may be willing to go up to 60 games, but that would likely be the max. The commissioner can implement this at any point, but the league is still hoping to complete a deal with the players union.

Another idea being floated around the MLB is possibly asking players for a 20% cut from prorated salaries to play an 82 game season. If that gets proposed to the players union, they will likely reject that.

If both sides continue to hold firm on their economic wants, we will probably only see a 50-to-60 game season. It will be great to see baseball, but in my opinion, you can’t crown a World Series champion off that many games. It gives bad teams a chance to sneak into the postseason if they start off hot, and it could be hard to see which bubble teams are legit. For example, the Nationals started last season 19-31 after 50 games and won the World Series.

I don’t think that the MLB will eliminate the World Series in a 50-or-so game season, but whoever wins will have a huge asterisk. Everyone, including the players, need to ask themselves: is a 50 game season really worth it?

As the MLB searches for a plan, they’ve quickly fallen behind other sports

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New York Yankees, James Paxton

Well, well, well. After being one of the first sports to start spitballing restart ideas, the MLB has officially fallen behind other leagues. A month-long money struggle later, the MLB has no plan while other sports are beginning to start up again.

NASCAR has been running races at empty tracks for three weeks now, and the PGA Tour is scheduled to return on the 11th. WWE has already completed a few events.

Just this week, the NBA announced its return to the hardwood. They’ll be returning on July 31st in Orlando at Disney World to conclude the regular season and operate the playoffs under a 22-team format. Game seven of the finals would end in mid-October, with the next season starting just seven weeks later. On the ladies’ side of things, the WNBA is in early talks about a 22-game season.

The NHL is operating under a phased plan that could potentially see games resuming in July. The NFL is planning to run its schedule as planned and teams are beginning to reopen facilities.

With all this happening, the MLB is stuck in a huge money struggle with its players. The players have already agreed to prorated salaries, but the greedy owners want players to take larger cuts to minimize the revenue loss. What owners fail to realize is that teams would make back lost revenue very quickly once fans are in the stands again.

But, it may not be impossible to get fans back in the stands. The MLB should consider a limited attendance approach to make a little ticket revenue. NASCAR has an event at Homestead/Miami Speedway next weekend that will allow for 1,000 fans. Families must wear masks and social distance from other families in the stands. The MLB should consider a similar approach.

Time is ticking away, and the MLB needs to act quickly. No season will kill the game, and the league can’t let that happen.

MLB rejects the 114 game proposal from players union

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On Wednesday, the MLB officially rejected the players union proposal of a 114 game season in 2020. Instead, the league is leaning towards either a 48-to-54 game season with prorated salaries, or an 82-or-so game season with less than prorated salaries.

Between the two options, you’ll likely see more players lean towards an 82-game season. That’s if they are getting paid more than they would get paid in a 50-or-so game season. The season would have opt-outs for players who choose not not play for any reason. However, only those classified as “high risk” would recieve play. For example, if someone doesn’t play because they have immunocomprimised children, then they would get paid.

However, Joel Sherman reported that both sides seem to have more pessismism then ever about getting a season underway. That’s certainly dissapointing, but hopefully they can salvage a season. This sport needs it.

It doesn’t seem like the owners have much interest in having a season and doing what’s best for the sport. They only seem to care about themselves, and if there isn’t a season, it could kill baseball. And that isn’t a joke.

Baseball already has a downward trend, with fans not watching games and kids playing other sports. No season will lose more fans, and will hurt owner revenue years down the road.

Owners keep forgetting that 2020 would be a one year revenue loss. If all goes to plan, fans should be back in the stands by spring of 2021. There could be a coronavirus vaccine as early as November or December.

With time winding down to formulate a plan, it’s time for all sides to come into an agreement. Players want to play, but they want to be treated right. A season must happen.

The Owners Are Okay With No Baseball in 2020: But Fans and Players Should Not Be

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The MLBPA had recently just announced a plan to reinstate the MLB season for 2020 that would help everyone make their money. Extended playoffs and a regular season with less radical paychecks mean that while the players will make more, the teams will as well with a larger postseason. The response to this on social media has been a response deeming this is our only hope for MLB baseball, not because the MLBPA is not willing to make adjustments or that the MLB fans aren’t interested, but per Buster Olney, the MLB owners have no problem with a season shutdown.

I’ve always been the type of sports fan who deals in numbers and tries to be objective, my writing often reflects this objective and advanced analytics approach. This, however, cannot be quantified, it cannot be put into a stat on FanGraphs or Baseball Prospectus, it cannot be compared to other metrics. This is the pure love of baseball talking here: These owners no longer care about baseball. Not talking about owners who pay their minor leaguers or put a winning team forward at all times, owners who want to make a large profit over having an MLB season.

This game is defined by not by owners but those who put on the cleats and don the gloves. Those who wear the hats, roll their socks up or wear their pants long, and chew and spit seeds in the dugout. This is a game defined by their inhuman abilities, Aaron Judge’s strength, Jordan Hicks speedy fastball, and Cody Bellinger’s speed. To have this game taken away not by the players but by owners who while they do write the checks, are in my opinion obligated to give their fans and players hope for the game and promote this beautiful game. They have not all done that.

These teams and players aren’t just employees in your company or business, they’re men who put their careers on the line to win and make you more money through the postseason. They try to win the World Series, they try to put up big numbers, they try to work in horrible Minor League conditions all to make sure there’s a product on the field and a trophy in the owner’s shelf. Us fans shouldn’t let those men be robbed of their season, robbed of their contracts, robbed of their hard-earned money, or robbed of their reputation.

This isn’t the owner’s game, this is our game, and I will do everything in my power as a writer to promote these players and the MLBPA’s quest to have a fair deal to bring the MLB back and make sure owners don’t get away from stealing the game from those who love it most.

BREAKING: MLB owners shifting interest towards a 50 or 60 game season

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ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported on SportsCenter that the MLB owners are shifting in the direction of wanting a 50 to 60 game schedule for 2020. With this schedule, the players would get the prorated salaries like agreed upon in March. The owners believe they have the discretion on setting schedule length.

As Passan said, this is no set deal, but just reports. He believes that both the players and owners are nearing closer to a deal, but players may want a longer schedule. The players proposed a 114 game schedule on Sunday that the owners basically vetoed.

If I’m a player, I try to get the season up to as close as 80 games as possible with the idea of more revenue-generating events. Those events could include a home run derby and an all-star game after the season if the coronavirus remains under control.

It appears as if the owners are okay with players possibly opting out this season if they don’t want to play, and are on board with a lengthened postseason. The season would return in July if this is passed, and the postseason would be just about over by the end of September.

Another reason why owners might want it this way is to make sure they don’t interfere with other sports too much so they can get as many viewers as possible down the stretch and into the postseason. Since there will likely not be any fans at any games in 2020, most revenue will be generated through TV deals.

We’ll see what develops from this likely proposal, and it could be the closest step to getting baseball back on the field in 2020.

MLB: Several owners are willing to cancel the season

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Buster Olney and other sources reported that some owners are willing to cancel the 2020 season to save money.

This is again another example of the greed coming from the owners. They seem to forget that they will make back the lost revenue from the 2020 season rather quickly. Cancelation of the 2020 season could come if players and owners don’t get on the same page about pay cuts.

The players agreed to take prorated salaries back in March, but owners now want more significant pay cuts for players. Some players could see 80% pay cuts in the recent MLB proposal.

The players union reportedly submitted a new proposal to the MLB that includes a longer season, but still with prorated salaries. If this reaction from the owners is coming after seeing the players union proposal, then a season seems less likely.

Many teams have committed to paying minor leaguers for at least a few more months, while the Reds and Royals have committed to pay them all season. However, the Athletics chose the opposite and will no longer pay their farmhands in 2020.

A canceled 2020 MLB season could have lasting effects on the league. Baseball could lose viewership, and the current CBA expires after 2021. That means its entirely possible we see a lockout beginning in 2022, and that could also help kill baseball.

The greediness of the owners has put baseball in a bad position during the coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic could have lasting effects on the MLB and baseball, and that hurts baseball even more due to its declining popularity. Hopefully, all sides can figure this out, and we can see baseball in 2020.

 

MLB: Hundreds of minor leaguers being released amid pandemic

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Amid the coronavirus pandemic, Major League Baseball teams are releasing hundreds of minor leaguers. This is because many owners don’t want to pay minor league salaries and releasing them to save money.

This is disheartening and brutal for so many players with so much yet to come. The releases could be the end of many players’ careers before they even had a shot to prove themselves.

Many teams like the Dodgers and Mets are paying all minor leaguers through June, while organizations like the Marlins and Padres are paying players through August. The Reds and Royals have even announced that they will pay their minor leaguers all season.

Unfortunately, the Athletics announced that their minor leaguers would no longer be paid after May 31st. That’s almost just as bad as being released since you aren’t making money either way.

Right now, the MLB is in negotiations with the Players Association about the fate of the 2020 season. The players are working on a counter-proposal to the MLB that will include around 110 games with prorated salaries. The Players Association turned down the original proposal due to the lack of pay, with some players seeing 80% pay cuts.

All sides want to see a baseball season happen, but they can’t get on the same page about how it will happen. The players already agreed to prorated salaries, but it’s again the owners who are afraid to lose money for one season. What they fail to realize is how quickly they would make back all the lost money.

Hopefully, more teams will follow the lead of the Reds and Royals and will pay their minor leaguers all year. Additionally, the MLB and the Players Association need to strike a deal soon. If not, we may never see baseball in 2020.

 

MLB: Max Scherzer tweets displeasure about negotiations

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Could the New York Yankees pursue Max Scherzer in a trade?

On Wednesday, Washington Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer voiced his displeasure about negotiations with the MLB on saving the 2020 season. The star for the reigning World Series champs has been representing the Players Union during talks with the league and the owners.

He tweeted that “there’s no reason to engage with MLB in any further compensation reductions”. This means that the players will not accept anything less than prorated salaries.

The owners have been encouraging a 50-50 revenue split, however, the players are strongly against that. Owners are against prorated salaries because in their minds, they would lose too much money. What owners fail to realize is that they would make the money back quickly after the 2020 season. It would be a one season revenue loss.

“There’s no justification to accept a 2nd pay cut based upon the current information the union has received,” added Scherzer.

From what we have heard, the Players Union will likely submit a counter-proposal to the MLB including a season as long as 110 games. The players will still ask for prorated salaries. Even though more money would be used for salaries, it would give the teams more games to make revenue from TV deals and other services.

It’s certainly a messy situation, but all parties remain confident that a deal will be completed. It looks bleak for fans, but everyone within baseball still thinks a deal will be completed. A deal would need to be completed by early June to start Spring Training again on June 10th, as previously suggested.

Both players and owners have a lot of work to do, but hopefully a deal will be completed soon.

MLB: Players Association “disappointed’ with economic proposal

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On Tuesday, the MLB approached the Players Union with an economic proposal for the 2020 season. Needless to say, the players were less than thrilled with it. The reaction wasn’t totally unexpected, but disappointing nonetheless.

While the players wanted prorated salaries, the owners vied for a 50-50 revenue split. So, the MLB had to try and find a middle-ground. That middle-ground proposal would lead to enormous pay cuts for the best players and turning away interest.

According to Jon Heyman, the proposal would have someone usually earning $563,500 make $262,217. A player usually making $35 million would make just 7,843,363. While those numbers still sound high, just remember that the players already agreed to prorated salaries, but the owners just recently got cold feet about it.

The pay system is a good start, however. We see that exponential curve, making it so players on minimum contracts aren’t hurt nearly as much. Regardless, what they would make would still be livable.

The good news is that all sides are still wanting to get a deal in place and see baseball. The goal is to have an agreement in place by June 1st to start Spring Training on June 10th. It would be great to see some Major League action; however, it’s unlikely that the Minor League plays at all.

On Tuesday, the Oakland Athletics became the first team to announce that they will no longer pay their Minor Leaguers after May 31st. That leads us to think that teams may have inside knowledge of no Minor League season, and we could see more announcements in that front soon.

The MLB and Players Association will continue negotiations and counter-proposals throughout the week to attempt to make a season happen.

MLB: Players Union expecting an economic proposal on Tuesday

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The MLB and team owners are expected to send an economic proposal to the Players Union on Tuesday for review.

Players and owners have conflicting thoughts about how the players should be paid. Players want prorated salaries, meaning they get paid for as long as the season is. If the season is 81 games, then players get half their salary.

However, the owners want to do some sort of a 50-50 revenue split with the players. It sounds great, but the snag is that there won’t be a ton of revenue in 2020. The majority of the revenue will come from TV deals.

So, the players and owners need to find some sort of a middle-ground. Both sides are showing a strong interest in playing, and most doctors and elected officials think it’s safe enough. On Saturday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that teams could resume practices in preparation for a season.

Last week, the MLB sent a safety proposal to the Players Union, and there doesn’t seem to be many hang-ups there. Players know that they may have to make a few sacrifices and that the season will look different, but are all in if they can figure out the economics.

If everything is figured out, an 82 or so game schedule would be played. There would be three 10-team divisions with all regular-season games played within the division. Home ballparks would be used, and a universal DH would be implemented. The postseason would likely expand to 14-teams, but it’s not clear how seeding would work.

Hopefully, the sides can get everything straightened out, and we can see a 2020 season.