Clark and the MLBPA are sharing the blame with MLB for not having a plan in place to playGETTY IMAGES
The negotiations between MLB and the MLBPA over the past month will linger and "even shape the future of the game, and not in a necessarily productive way," according to Tim Brown of YAHOO SPORTS. Labor warfare "is back in baseball, featuring a union scalded by recent CBA failures and a league used to getting its way." Brown: "And so the league will have its way again" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 6/13). ESPN’s Jeff Passan said the two sides "have been talking past one another for going on two months right now." Passan: "You look at the proposals that each side has given and it’s almost like they’ve been completely ignoring the other side. These have not been negotiations. These haven’t even been discussions” ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 6/14). In N.Y., Ken Davidoff writes the sides currently "hate each other's guts" (N.Y. POST, 6/13). Also in N.Y., Joel Sherman noted neither side is "showing any signs of concession or peaceful tones." Both now are acting "like an imposed season and a grievance are inevitable and are creating legal cases to defend their positions" (N.Y. POST, 6/14). ESPN's Tim Kurkjian: “It's a real mess. ... I covered the ’81 strike. That was so vicious. I covered the ’94-95 strike, and that wasn’t much better. This one differentiates even from those two given what’s going on in the country right now. To have this bickering over money is a really, really bad look for baseball at this time” ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 6/14).
MANFRED, OWNERS UNDER FIRE: Cardinals President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak said, "There is no doubt right now there is an enormous amount of distrust on both sides" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 6/15). In DC, Thomas Boswell writes MLB owners "wanted it all." Boswell: First, they wanted a season. ... Then they wanted a champion to crown so the sport has continuity. In addition, they wanted the union to agree to 22 more playoff games in an expanded format to sell to TV this fall." Boswell continues, "And finally -- this must be a guesstimate because the owners refuse to open their books -- MLB wanted its whole industry to break even (roughly $0.00) for 2020 at a time when the whole world is bleeding." Boswell asks, "What would the players have gotten in return? At best a 64.5 percent pay cut and 100 percent of the risk of getting the coronavirus and, with bad luck, dying" (WASHINGTON POST, 6/15). In Boston, Sean McAdam, "It's been patently obvious for a while now that the owners and commissioner Rob Manfred have but one strategy: to run out the negotiating clock until such time when it becomes feasible for them to implement a shorter schedule of their own determination" (BOSTONSPORTSJOURNAL.com, 6/14). In Chicago, Steve Greenberg writes ownership "greed is the primary culprit in my book" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 6/15). In Houston, Brian Smith wrote this is "not all Rob Manfred’s fault. ... It just increasingly looks and feels like it is." Smith: "He’s still a long way from Bud Selig territory. But since the 2019 season ended, Manfred has continually damaged MLB’s brand, the sport and the game" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 6/14).
DOOMED FROM THE START? In San Diego, Kevin Acee argues it "wasn’t a pandemic that landed Major League Baseball here, on the precipice of potential calamity." It was "ambiguity" in the March 27 agreement between the MLB and MLBPA outlining plans for a return to play. Acee writes such ambiguity is "almost as unfathomable as the situation itself, in which MLB’s players and team owners are seemingly going to allow their sport to absorb a self-inflicted gut punch that could contribute to diminished fan interest and decimated revenue and salaries for years to come" (SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE, 6/15).
PLAYING THE LONG GAME? SPORTSNET.ca's Shi Davidi wrote it is "worth asking what’s really driving the owners side here?" Davidi asks, "Why are they willing to risk the health of an industry that generated a record $10.7 billion in revenue in 2019, up from $10.3 billion the year before ... to save a few hundred million now?" For Davidi, the "obvious answer all along" was that this was "all happening with an eye toward the next round of collective bargaining, with the current deal set to expire after the 2021 season" (SPORTSNET.ca, 6/14).
DO PLAYERS HAVE A PLAN? THE ATHLETIC's Ken Rosenthal wrote, "I do not blame the players for objecting to cuts or taking a stand in response to years of perceived slights by Major League Baseball and its clubs." If commissioner Manfred "imposes a season of 50-odd games, that decision will reflect poorly on him and his owners." However, it is still "fair to wonder: Where exactly is the Players Association going with this?" Rosenthal: "If the union intends to build strength for the 2021 collective-bargaining negotiations, how will its hard-line strategy help secure a favorable outcome?" (THEATHLETIC.com, 6/14).
CLARK, PLAYERS NOT BLAMELESS: In Milwaukee, Tom Haudricourt writes since '16, all MLBPA Exec Dir Tony Clark has "heard is the union 'lost' the last CBA negotiations, and he is determined never to hear that again, especially after average salaries did not reflect the game's revneue boost in recent years." Haudricourt: "But it never should have been about 'winning' this negotiation, for either side. This should have been about doing whatever it took to get through a horrible 2020 and move forward" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 6/15). In Chicago, Paul Sullivan writes the union "knew all along Manfred could impose a 50-something-game season in the end, so [the union] basically wasted precious time with these fake negotiations instead of just calling MLB’s bluff from the outset." Clark "should’ve known a month ago that further dialogue with the league would be futile" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 6/15).
