Lockout: What each side wants, how long it will last?
At the stroke of midnight, as Wednesday turned into Thursday, Major League Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement expired. In the absence of a new deal, the owners voted to approve an expected, if unnecessary, lockout of the players, thereby icing not only a five-alarm hot stove but also an entire $10 billion-plus industry.
OK, so now what?
MLB’S first work stoppage since the 1994-95 strike is a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad look for everyone from Commissioner Rob Manfred and the billionaire owners for whom he works to Players’ Association executive director Tony Clark and his constituents. Manfred said as much in a news conference Thursday in Dallas, labeling the lockout “bad for our business.”
But it’s chiefly a negotiating strategy. Spring training is 2
1/2 months away; players aren’t due another paycheck until the season begins. Offseason business could’ve continued under terms of the expired agreement, as it did in 1994. The purpose, though, of a December lockout is to pressure the players into making a deal sooner and to give the owners control over the timing of the bargaining sessions.
Will it work? Check back. Meanwhile, there’s a freeze on transactions. Although teams may discuss trades, club employees are prohibited from all contact with major league players. That includes trainers who were assisting injured players with their rehab. Players are barred from team facilities. The major league portion of the winter meetings next week in Orlando, Fla., is canceled. Team officials aren’t allowed to comment on players to the media. Mlb.com hastily removed all stories and photos of players on 40-man rosters.
With little else to talk about, get ready for as much chatter as you can stand about “competitive integrity” and “service time” and “revenue sharing” and “expanded playoffs,” among other topics.
Here’s what you need to know about MLB’S labor turmoil.
What do the players want? A bigger bite at the apple. The average major league salary has dropped 6.4% since 2017, according to the Associated Press. Meanwhile, MLB has seen record revenues, topping out at $10.7 billion in 2019. The players want to level the playing field.
Doing so will require a massive restructuring of an economic system that disadvantages lessexperienced players by requiring three years of major league service to be eligible for salary arbitration and six for free agency. But that isn’t even the players’ biggest gripe.
The root of the issue, according to many players, is what Max Scherzer described Wednesday as “a competition problem.” Players believe not enough teams are actively trying to win — and therefore not paying big salaries — because the CBA rewards the worst teams with the highest amateur draft picks and the most money to sign them. The number of 95-loss teams rose from three in 2011 and four in 2012 to eight in 2018 and six this year.
“Adjustments have to be made in order to bring out the competition,” Scherzer said in a Zoom call to announce his record contract with the New York Mets. “As players, that’s absolutely critical to us to have a highly competitive league. When we don’t have that, we have issues.”
What do the owners and MLB want?
Two words: expanded playoffs. The owners proposed a 14team field, according to the New York Post, after nine seasons with a 10-team format. The move would increase revenues from ticket sales and especially
television deals and put more money in everyone’s pocket.
But the players are concerned that granting more teams entry into the postseason would further disincentivize owners from spending. If teams can get into the playoffs with 85 wins rather than 90, some may attempt to compete with a lower payroll.
Manfred is hyper-focused on on-field changes, such as a pitch clock, that will make games more enjoyable to watch. But he said Thursday that those issues are being cast aside for now to keep the focus on economics.
The owners are mostly pleased with the status quo.
But given their appetite for expanded playoffs, the players likely will withhold their stamp of approval in return for something substantial, such as a modification of the draft system or free agency based on factors other than