The MLB lockout thread

[Deberg_1990]

Discussssss

To our Fans:

I first want to thank you for your continued support of the great game of baseball. This past season, we were reminded of how the national pastime can bring us together and restore our hope despite the difficult challenges of a global pandemic. As we began to emerge from one of the darkest periods in our history, our ballparks were filled with fans; the games were filled with excitement; and millions of families felt the joy of watching baseball together.

That is why I am so disappointed about the situation in which our game finds itself today. Despite the league’s best efforts to make a deal with the Players Association, we were unable to extend our 26 year-long history of labor peace and come to an agreement with the MLBPA before the current CBA expired. Therefore, we have been forced to commence a lockout of Major League players, effective at 12:01am ET on December 2.

I want to explain to you how we got here and why we have to take this action today. Simply put, we believe that an offseason lockout is the best mechanism to protect the 2022 season. We hope that the lockout will jumpstart the negotiations and get us to an agreement that will allow the season to start on time. This defensive lockout was necessary because the Players Association’s vision for Major League Baseball would threaten the ability of most teams to be competitive. It’s simply not a viable option. From the beginning, the MLBPA has been unwilling to move from their starting position, compromise, or collaborate on solutions.

When we began negotiations over a new agreement, the Players Association already had a contract that they wouldn’t trade for any other in sports. Baseball’s players have no salary cap and are not subjected to a maximum length or dollar amount on contracts. In fact, only MLB has guaranteed contracts that run 10 or more years, and in excess of $300 million. We have not proposed anything that would change these fundamentals. While we have heard repeatedly that free agency is “broken” – in the month of November $1.7 billion was committed to free agents, smashing the prior record by nearly 4x. By the end of the offseason, Clubs will have committed more money to players than in any offseason in MLB history.

We worked hard to find compromise while making the system even better for players, by addressing concerns raised by the Players Association. We offered to establish a minimum payroll for all clubs to meet for the first time in baseball history; to allow the majority of players to reach free agency earlier through an age-based system that would eliminate any claims of service time manipulation; and to increase compensation for all young players, including increases in the minimum salary. When negotiations lacked momentum, we tried to create some by offering to accept the universal Designated Hitter, to create a new draft system using a lottery similar to other leagues, and to increase the Competitive Balance Tax threshold that affects only a small number of teams.

We have had challenges before with respect to making labor agreements and have overcome those challenges every single time during my tenure. Regrettably, it appears the Players Association came to the bargaining table with a strategy of confrontation over compromise. They never wavered from collectively the most extreme set of proposals in their history, including significant cuts to the revenue-sharing system, a weakening of the competitive balance tax, and shortening the period of time that players play for their teams. All of these changes would make our game less competitive, not more.

To be clear: this hard but important step does not necessarily mean games will be cancelled. In fact, we are taking this step now because it accelerates the urgency for an agreement with as much runway as possible to avoid doing damage to the 2022 season. Delaying this process further would only put Spring Training, Opening Day, and the rest of the season further at risk – and we cannot allow an expired agreement to again cause an in-season strike and a missed World Series, like we experienced in 1994. We all owe you, our fans, better than that.

Today is a difficult day for baseball, but as I have said all year, there is a path to a fair agreement, and we will find it. I do not doubt the League and the Players share a fundamental appreciation for this game and a commitment to its fans. I remain optimistic that both sides will seize the opportunity to work together to grow, protect, and strengthen the game we love. MLB is ready to work around the clock to meet that goal. I urge the Players Association to join us at the table.
Manfred

Read a letter from the Commissioner: https://t.co/P4gRGSlfsu pic.twitter.com/zI40uGLTni

— MLB (@MLB) December 2, 2021

Statement from the Major League Baseball Players Association: pic.twitter.com/34uIGf762W

— MLBPA Communications (@MLBPA_News) December 2, 2021

[Titty Meat]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

The problem was that we could always find at least three guys to go play some form of football.

Baseball takes at least 5 or 6 along with a bucket of baseballs and a damn big open space.

The logistics were just a lot tougher

Man we had a group of 8-10 every night and a giant back yard. I had more fun playing backyard baseball than high school sports tbh

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by dlphg9

I have a hard time backing the MLBPA. They have fully guaranteed contracts and basically no salary cap. The CBT is the flimsiest version of a salary cap you can have and even if it was more of a deterrent to keep teams from spending, it's still millions of dollars more than the NFL salary cap.

Raising the CBT doesn't do much for the average player, but putting an actual salary cap with a floor forces teams to spend more.

Say the floor was $120 million last year. 13 teams would have been under that number.

These are the teams and how far under they are

COL $4 mil
MIL $21 mil
TEX $25 mil
KC $29 mil
ARI $29 mil
OAK $30 mil
DET $34 mil
SEA $37 mil
TB $50 mil
MIA $62 mil
PIT $66 mil
CLE $70 mil
BAL $78 mil

I see the owners had proposed a $100 mil floor and $180 mil CBT. If the MLBPA countered with $120 mil floor and $180 mil CBT, then MLB might agree.

Last year only 8 teams would have been over the $180 mil

LAD $86 mil
NYY $25 mil
NYM $21 mil
PHI $17 mil
HOU $14 mil
BOS $7 mil
LAA $349k

Teams that didn't meet the floor the total is $535 million
If the floor were $100 million then the total would be $275 million

Teams over CBT total is $170.349 million

That's between $105 million and $365 million more for the players.
.
I'm not sure what the big pushback is from the players is.

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Nothing more than a mindless dogmatic refusal being pushed primarily by a few superstars and powerful agents.

Again - it’s amazing that suddenly a union is ARGUING for trickle down economic theory.

A salary cap would be way way better for the average player. Also those barely making the roster. Thats the majority of players. They play on that hope, one day you will get your own $100 million contract too,

The MLB should follow the recent NFL deal. Make it a great deal for those players. They get big raises. They are the majority. Get them to vote.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Titty Meat

Man we had a group of 8-10 every night and a giant back yard. I had more fun playing backyard baseball than high school sports tbh

My favorite sports to play as a kid was rollerhockey in the parking lot of the neighborhood pool.

Man that was a blast. And invariably the game would end when things started getting heated. You're not really supposed to be checking guys (there's no boards, afterall) but somebody would be trying to get down the side of the 'rink' and he'd get hip checked over the curb into a fence and all hell would break loose.

I could snap the hell out of that little ball, man.

[Ocotillo]

Sources: MLB, MLBPA lawyers met today, planning to meet again tomorrow. MLB has suggested Tuesday as deadline, in its eyes, for 3 things: play 162 games, and for players to get full pay & full service time. But, pay/service/sked can’t be unilaterally chosen—needs to be negotiated

— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) March 8, 2022

MLB has told the Players Association it expects to cancel another week of games without a deal reached tomorrow, sources tell me and @KenRosenthal.

— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) March 8, 2022

[dlphg9]

Newest proposal from the MLB should be enough to get this done.

On service time, with @Ken_Rosenthal:

• A team that brings up a player for Opening Day can net 3 draft picks over time, one pick per year, if that player does well in voting


That's kinda interesting.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by dlphg9

Newest proposal from the MLB should be enough to get this done.

On service time, with @Ken_Rosenthal:

• A team that brings up a player for Opening Day can net 3 draft picks over time, one pick per year, if that player does well in voting


That's kinda interesting.

what does that mean? Voting for what? Player of the year? All-Star game?

This is why they are not playing? Again only the elite of the elite get this treatment to be called up later to get another year of service. Maybe effects 1 player a year.

All the other shit going the players way like no salary cap and they are still not playing over 1 player out of hundreds getting another year of service time before they get $100+ million guaranteed contract handed to them by another team.

[ChiefsCountry]

https://www.outkick.com/so-called-in...ts-they-serve/

You know coverage of the MLB lockout is slanted toward the players when an agent is offering praise.

And not just any agent. We’re talking about super agent Scott Boras, who told The Washington Post that coverage of the lockout is “the most accurate coverage, factually, of any labor negotiation I’ve been involved in.’”

Boras has been a big pain in the backside for MLB team owners and executives for decades. He has played a major role in inflated salaries and player movement. He’s rich and comes across as incredibly slimy.

So if he’s happy, well, you can only guess how remarkably favorable coverage of the lockout has been for the players.

Of course, this isn’t just limited to baseball. Insiders in all sports have sold their souls to agents in their desperate quest for Twitter scoops.

Actually, a lot of national sports writers today are represented by the same agencies that represent the players. For instance, ESPN NBA reporter Adrian Wojnarowski is represented by CAA, which lists some of the league’s best and brightest among its clients.

So when an agent says, “jump,” national insiders often ask, “how high?”

As a result, sports writers are no longer actual writers with opinions. At least, not their own opinions. Instead, they walk on eggshells, treading lightly so as to not offend their “sources,” which are always “agents.”

This isn’t to say team owners are right and players are wrong. This isn’t taking any sort of side. But that’s what the sports media is supposed to do. Try to be fair, then form opinions on fairness.

That’s not what many of today’s so-called insiders are doing. They’re just playing a game of trying to one-up the other in kissing agents’ butts.

The result has been vanilla stories, written with no soul or personal opinions, and quite frankly, unreliable coverage. The agents have dived head first into the sportswriting world, and now your sports stories are brought to you almost entirely by them.

[dlphg9]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

what does that mean? Voting for what? Player of the year? All-Star game?

This is why they are not playing? Again only the elite of the elite get this treatment to be called up later to get another year of service. Maybe effects 1 player a year.

All the other shit going the players way like no salary cap and they are still not playing over 1 player out of hundreds getting another year of service time before they get $100+ million guaranteed contract handed to them by another team.

No this isn't holding up the game. I just found it interesting.

[tk13]

Looks like there's still a shot.

Source: MLB officials are reviewing latest MLBPA counteroffer, with the possibility of a CBA deal before daybreak still alive. @MLBNetwork

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) March 9, 2022

[Ocotillo]

As we cross the 2:30 a.m. mark, baseball bargaining has now hit its latest point in this round of talks. The sides started in the 10 o’clock hour Tuesday, so they’re in Hour 17. MLB and the MLBPA are still working. Issues remain.

— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) March 9, 2022

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by Ocotillo

As we cross the 2:30 a.m. mark, baseball bargaining has now hit its latest point in this round of talks. The sides started in the 10 o’clock hour Tuesday, so they’re in Hour 17. MLB and the MLBPA are still working. Issues remain.

— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) March 9, 2022

I just want to see MJ Melendez hit it over the fence and Aldaberto Mondesi injure his oblique. Is that too much to ask?

[Ocotillo]

So, sleep well, the bargaining has ended for tonight, there is no deal yet, and we will see you in the morning - 30 -

— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) March 9, 2022

[dallaschiefsfan]

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry

https://www.outkick.com/so-called-in...ts-they-serve/

You know coverage of the MLB lockout is slanted toward the players when an agent is offering praise.

And not just any agent. We’re talking about super agent Scott Boras, who told The Washington Post that coverage of the lockout is “the most accurate coverage, factually, of any labor negotiation I’ve been involved in.’”

Boras has been a big pain in the backside for MLB team owners and executives for decades. He has played a major role in inflated salaries and player movement. He’s rich and comes across as incredibly slimy.

So if he’s happy, well, you can only guess how remarkably favorable coverage of the lockout has been for the players.

Of course, this isn’t just limited to baseball. Insiders in all sports have sold their souls to agents in their desperate quest for Twitter scoops.

Actually, a lot of national sports writers today are represented by the same agencies that represent the players. For instance, ESPN NBA reporter Adrian Wojnarowski is represented by CAA, which lists some of the league’s best and brightest among its clients.

So when an agent says, “jump,” national insiders often ask, “how high?”

As a result, sports writers are no longer actual writers with opinions. At least, not their own opinions. Instead, they walk on eggshells, treading lightly so as to not offend their “sources,” which are always “agents.”

This isn’t to say team owners are right and players are wrong. This isn’t taking any sort of side. But that’s what the sports media is supposed to do. Try to be fair, then form opinions on fairness.

That’s not what many of today’s so-called insiders are doing. They’re just playing a game of trying to one-up the other in kissing agents’ butts.

The result has been vanilla stories, written with no soul or personal opinions, and quite frankly, unreliable coverage. The agents have dived head first into the sportswriting world, and now your sports stories are brought to you almost entirely by them.

Indeed! There is major butt-hurt from the sports media for the owners. Outside of garden variety class-warfare, I'm unsure why. This whole idea that "players are the sport" is stupid. No owners...no organization or investment capital. No fans...no demand. No players...no product. Each of those statements are true. The difference is that nobody has ever really worked for the customer...the fans - specifically the fans of teams with smaller local TV contracts. I want the chance for generational talents to stay in KC if you draft and develop said-player. Nothing about the players or owners proposals in this negotiation works towards making that a reality.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by dallaschiefsfan

I want the chance for generational talents to stay in KC if you draft and develop said-player. Nothing about the players or owners proposals in this negotiation works towards making that a reality.

Salary cap and floor is the ticket. But, it aint happening without shutting down baseball for over a year or bringing in AAA replacement players, if they will play. It's a pipe dream.

[Ocotillo]

NEW YORK — The most significant issue remaining in talks, although not the only, is said to be direct draft pick compensation, the elimination of the qualifying offer. The players want it, MLB has proposed it — but MLB wants the international draft, which is no small matter/give.

— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) March 9, 2022

The international draft appears to be the last big remaining obstacle to reach a labor deal today. MLB badly seeks it, and will eliminate all qualifying offers for free agents in return. The union still is opposed as it receives input from players, former players and agents.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) March 9, 2022