Astros ready amid debate
Impasse lingers; Bregman, team prepare for start
With one shrug of his shoulders, Alex Bregman encapsulated the enigmatic state of the sport he loves. On a break from another charitable effort amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, the Astros third baseman fielded a question that no one can seem to answer.
Will there be a baseball season?
Bregman raised his eyebrows and shoulders before drawing a deep breath.
“I don’t know,” Bregman said. “I hope so. I want to play. I love baseball. That’s all I want to do, play baseball. That’s it.”
Players across the league seem to share Bregman’s sentiment. Continued division between the league’s owners and players union threatens it. The two sides remained at an impasse on Friday afternoon, continuing a steady leak of internal emails or barbs toward the other.
On Thursday, after a conference call of more than 100 players and the Major League Baseball Players Association, the union reaffirmed its long-held stance to not accept a second salary reduction. Union chief Tony Clark said in a statement “players are ready to report, ready to get back on the field.”
Union negotiator Bruce Meyer sent the league an email on Friday that claimed it “has done nothing to persuade” players of a financial situation that requires an additional salary reduction. The two sides agreed in March to prorated salaries if the 2020 season started.
Meyer’s email, obtained by the Athletic, also accused the league of a “cynical tactic of depriving America of baseball games.”
The Associated Press reported
that the Astros would save more than $100 million on salaries if the game returned under the owners’ proposal. The AP study looked solely at 2020 salaries and did not include prorated shares of signing bonuses, which are guaranteed when a contract is signed and approved by the commissioner’s office.
MLB offered a six-tier sliding scale of cuts starting at 10 percent and rising to 90 percent for the amounts of salaries above $10 million, followed by prorating based on an 82-game season. Players proposed prorating for a 114-game regular-season schedule stretching through October.
Asked if the bickering frustrated players, Bregman was diplomatic. He reiterated the team’s desire to play, but stayed away from making any concessions or acknowledgments toward the players’ desire for prorated salaries.
“I just want to play baseball, that’s it,” Bregman said. “Honestly. I just want to play. I understand why you have to ask that question. I think a lot of people are asking those questions. For me, I just love this game, and I love playing it. I know the rest of my team does as well.”
Bregman is among a group of Houston-based players who’ve been flocking to Minute Maid Park for individual workouts during the last two weeks. They’re able to take batting practice and field ground balls, Bregman said, a slight increase of activity from the early, restrictive nature of the facility’s opening.
Almost all of the Astros’ starting infield — Bregman, Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve — are Houston residents with access to the ballpark.
“There’s been guys working out there,” Bregman said. “I feel like a lot of guys on our team have gone in, gotten their work in and getting prepared.”
Will it even matter? “I don’t know,” Bregman repeated. “I think everybody is just prepared and ready to play. If (a second spring training) was tomorrow, we’d be ready to rock.”