MLB to dictate 60-game season, pending 2 unanswered questions.
Players’ answers to two important questions to determine next actions of startup process
Baseball plans to be back. Provided the players association accedes to two requests by Tuesday afternoon, Major League Baseball will implement a season to start in late July, ending a tortuous two months from two sides that aired grievances and engaged in a bitter labor dispute that often spilled out publicly.
The union Monday rejected the league’s proposal for a 60game regular season, putting the onus for a 2020 campaign back onto commissioner Rob Manfred. An agreement between both sides in March gave Manfred authority to mandate a season in the absence of a compromise. Manfred will now exercise his right after owners voted unanimously to proceed. Multiple reports Monday night said the season will contain 60 games.
Before Manfred makes a schedule or sets forth an official number of games, the union must respond to two questions by 4 p.m. Tuesday: Can players report to camp by July 1, and will they agree to health and safety protocols for playing amid a pandemic?
On the surface, neither query appears a hurdle to the season. But assuming anything between these two sides is lunacy. Both are steeped in mutual, longstanding distrust. Leaked emails and combative, pointed statements created a familiar refrain that lasted into Monday afternoon, illustrating the chasm between baseball players and owners.
“Needless to say, we are disappointed by this development,” the league said in a statement acknowledging the union’s rejection of a 60-game season. “The
framework provided an opportunity for MLB and its players to work together to confront the difficulties and challenges presented by the pandemic. It gave our fans the chance to see an exciting new postseason format. And it offered players significant benefits.”
Manfred amended the proposal Sunday night. He offered to waive the universal designated hitter and expanded postseason in 2021 if the agreed-upon number of games were not played in 2020.
The proposal did include a $25 million postseason player pool along with salaries that, according to the league, amounted to 104 percent of prorated pay. There was also $33 million in forgiven salary advances that, according to the league, would increase the take-home pay of 61 percent of
major leaguers.
Still, the voting body, composed of 30 player representatives and an eight-man executive committee, voted 33-5 against it.
“While we had hoped to reach a revised back to work agreement with the league, the players remain fully committed to proceeding under our current agreement and getting back on the field for the fans, for the game and for each other,” the MLBPA said in a statement Monday.
More serious than any salary or length-of-season concerns is the recent spike in coronavirus cases within the sport and country. All 30 major league spring training sites were shut down this past weekend for deep cleans. The Astros reported one player tested positive at their facility in West Palm Beach, Fla.
The MLBPA said Monday it anticipated finalizing the “comprehensive” set of protocols “in the
coming days.”
“And we await word from the league on the resumption of spring training camps and a proposed 2020 schedule,” the statement said, essentially asking Manfred to implement the season.
Even before COVID-19 cases spiked in Texas, the Astros planned to hold their second spring training at Minute Maid Park. Players who reside in Houston have been reporting for individual workouts throughout the last month, adhering to strict safety guidelines and social distancing.
How the league plans to protect its players from the virus remains its most difficult question. The league’s 67-page health and safety protocol — still not agreed upon — discourages high-fiving and spitting and advocates for social distancing in empty stadiums. The league plans to play in home ballparks,
inviting wonder how teams can travel the country and still contain the virus’ spread.
By rejecting the league’s proposal and allowing Manfred to implement a season, the union retains its right to file a grievance against the league, charging it did not meet the terms of a March agreement.
Monday marked day 88 since that March 26 deal, one that promised the “fullest season possible that was economically feasible.” Both sides agreed to full prorated salaries as well, but the prospect of playing before empty stadiums prompted owners to seek additional pay cuts, creating a chasm that has only widened over almost three months.
The league did not offer players full prorated salaries until last week, when a face-to-face meeting between Manfred and union chief Tony Clark revived negotiations some assumed were dormant. Players will receive their full prorated salaries in a Manfred-implemented season.
Players were angered by the protracted nature of the talks — the league did not make its first financial proposal until mid-May — and always sought more games than owners preferred. Players proposed seasons of 114 and 89 games, respectively. Both proposals were swiftly rejected by owners.
By virtue of the March agreement, Manfred always maintained the option to enact a shortened season. Players welcomed the tactic earlier this month when negotiations broke down, taking to social media with a rallying cry to “tell us when and where.”
Now, perhaps, Manfred will oblige.