Baseball players say talks futile, tell MLB to order return
New York — Baseball players told Major League Baseball additional talks to start the season during the coronavirus pandemic are pointless and said owners should order a return to work, which likely would spark lengthy litigation and the sport's return to labor wars.
The union's action Saturday night could lead to a season of about 50 games rather than the 82 initially proposed by MLB.
The Major League Baseball Players Association could respond by filing a grievance that would be heard by arbitrator Mark Irvings, arguing players are owed hundreds of millions of dollars in damages due to a shorter season.
"It unfortunately appears that further dialogue with the league would be futile," union head Tony Clark said in a statement. "It's time to get back to work. Tell us when and where."
There was no immediate response from MLB.
While the NBA, NHL and MLS have figured out deals to return in this summer of the coronavirus, baseball has descended into the fractious labor strife that led to eight work stoppages from 1972-95. The union has seethed followed a collective bargaining agreement in late 2016 that led to relatively flat salaries for five straight years, an unsuccessful grievance accusing the Chicago Cubs of manipulating third baseman Kris Bryant's service time to delay his eligibility for free agency and a grievance accusing teams of improperly using revenue sharing proceeds, a process the union calls "tanking."
"Given your continued insistence on hundreds of millions of dollars of additional pay reductions, we assume these negotiations are at an end," union chief negotiator Bruce Meyer wrote in a letter to Deputy Commissioner Dan Halem on Saturday that was obtained by The Associated Press.
"If it is your intention to unilaterally impose a season, we again request that you inform us and our members of how many games you intend to play and when and where players should report. It is unfair to leave players and the fans hanging at this point, and further delay risks compromising health and safety. We demand that you inform us of your plans by close of business on Monday."
Players and MLB agreed to a deal March 26 calling for prorated salaries, a deal that included $170 million in salary advances and a guarantee of service time for 2020 even if no games are played.
Manfred can order start
That deal gave baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred the right to start the season provided there were no travel restrictions and games could be played before fans in regular-season ballparks. It called for "good faith" negotiations to play in empty ballparks or neutral sites.
Players insist they should not have to accept additional cuts.
"The solidarity of the players has never been more concentrated in years," said Scott Boras, baseball's most high-profile agent, who has three clients on the union's eight-man executive subcommittee.
MLB made three economic offers, the last Friday, and the union proposed two. The executive subcommittee held a call Saturday followed by a larger group of about 100 players, including the full executive committee and others.