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Labor and Agents

Keyissues: Biggest topics MLB and the MLBPA will be negotiating this offseason

Pitch clock
MLB’s average game time did improve by nearly five minutes to just over three hours in 2018. But a 20-second pitch clock is being seen by many within management as a tool to further improve the game’s pace of action and make it more appealing to younger consumers. The pitch clock is already in use at the Class AA and AAA levels in the affiliated minor leagues. The union, however, has expressed concerns about pitcher comfort and the unknown ramifications from large-scale rule changes such as this. The league holds the right to impose a pitch clock unilaterally, but MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred still prefers a negotiated solution.

Player marketing
Baseball is blessed with a historic level of prominent young talent, including Boston Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts, New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge and Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout, among many others. But the star power of baseball’s top figures consistently lags well behind those in many other sports. Joint efforts such as the MLB Little League Classic have been helpful in trying to turn that tide. Much more, however, is still needed. And Manfred last summer caused a bit of an industry stir when he said Trout had made “certain decisions” that have inhibited his marketability, and that improving player prominence will require a more active role from those players.

Roster sizes
No other major sport operates in this regard like baseball, which uses a 25-man active roster for five months of the regular season and then balloons up to 40 for the last month with minor league call-ups. At issue is how to create a more consistent situation throughout the season while also giving teams sufficient roster flexibility and ample ability for players to begin earning service time. The roster size issue was discussed extensively during the last major round of collective bargaining in 2016, and there was nearly a deal then for teams to play with 26 players during April-August and 28 in September. But an agreed-upon solution has remained elusive. Potential changes to disabled list rules are also linked to this topic.

On-field action
Baseball has quickly veered to a game dominated by the three true outcomes: home runs, strikeouts and walks. And the 2018 season was the first in MLB history with more strikeouts than hits. Manfred has consistently expressed a desire to have more balls in play, and MLBPA Executive Director Tony Clark similarly has allowed that “those coming to the ballpark … aren’t 100 percent certain that what they’re seeing is the game they want to see.” Discussion here will center on other potential rules modifications to promote a more action-filled style of play that is one step toward addressing the sport’s attendance drop of 4.1% from 2017 to 2018 .

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