Points of contention emerge
Leaders indicate what sides want in next labor deal
SAN DIEGO The cordial relationship between the parties, the early opening of negotiations and the joint implementation of recent policies all suggest baseball will extend its current stretch of labor peace, which has lasted more than two decades.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t any sticking points as Major League Baseball and the players association start to address issues pertinent to a new collective bargaining agreement to replace the one that expires in December.
The differences between the sides came into sharper focus during separate Q&A sessions Tuesday with members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, where the schedule emerged as the principal bone of contention.
Union head Tony Clark, who played for 15 years in the majors, is determined to lessen the demands on players, who have to grind through 162 games in 183 days, averaging 3½ days off a month while dealing with extensive travel.
One option would be to reduce the schedule to 154 games, but obviously that would cut into revenue.
“There are ways to produce more off days in the schedule,” Commissioner Rob Manfred said. “Some of those have very significant economic ramifications that … are going to have to be shared by all the relevant parties. You want to work less, usually you get paid less.”
That notion seems like a nonstarter for Clark, who presides over a union whose members earn an average salary of $4.4 million.
“I don’t agree there would need to be a discussion about a loss of salary or a rollback of salaries,” Clark said.
Without specifying how many games a season would be preferable, Clark argued that scheduling more days off would lead to better performance by the players and less need for them to sit out games to rest.
Increasing roster sizes beyond the current active limit of 25 could be an alternative as well — and one the players would heartily endorse — but the owners don’t figure to be enthused about that idea.
They also don’t want to start the season earlier or extend it deeper into the fall because of weather concerns.
Substantive talks between Manfred, alongside top lieutenant Dan Halem, and Clark began two weeks ago, earlier than in past CBA discussions. Baseball has not endured a work stoppage since the 1994-95 strike, and, with the $9 billion-plus industry thriving, there’s no appetite for a return to the acrimonious days of the past.
But the sides will have to find common ground on the possibility of establishing an international draft, which Manfred strongly advocates, and also address the issue of draft-pick compensation for free agent signings, which might have depressed the value of players such as Ian Desmond, Dexter Fowler and Howie Kendrick this past offseason and several others in the past.
“Despite the fact we do have less guys now who carry compensation than in the past,” Clark said, “a lot of what we have in place now, whether you’re a big club or a small club, has not proven beneficial.”
Said Manfred, “It would be a major, major concession for us to make changes in that area.”
In other topics addressed by the two executives:
The startling 14% spike in home runs this season over last is not the product of juiced baseballs or juiced players, Manfred said, expressing confidence in the game’s drug testing program and investigative capabilities, both of which have been boosted in recent years.
“We think it has to do more with the game this time around, because we are comfortable that we are doing everything possible on the performance-enhancing drugs front,” he said.
Manfred voiced his strong opposition to the current lawsuit that seeks federal minimumwage protection and overtime pay for minor leaguers, who are not members of the union, warning about the detrimental consequences of excessively regulating the minors.
“This is not a dollars and cents issue,” Manfred said. “It is the irrationality of the application of traditional workplace overtime rules to minor league players. It just makes no sense.
“I want to take extra BP ( batting practice). Am I working, or am I not working?”
Both parties expressed satisfaction with the domestic violence policy they agreed to in August and how it has worked.
“I believe we got it right,” Clark said.
Manfred said the stadium situations in Oakland and Tampa would have to be resolved before baseball considered expansion. With more municipalities banning the use of smokeless tobacco in public ballparks, MLB and the players association remain divided on their approach to the issue.
MLB would like to extend the prohibition currently in place in the minors, while the union prefers to focus on education.