As Major League Baseball’s owners and its players union continue to fight over the number of games and prorated salaries for a 2020 season, it seems more likely that commissioner Rob Manfred will mandate a 50-game season that leaves nobody satisfied and damages the sport.
The Major League Baseball Players Association sent a proposal to team owners Tuesday, laying out a plan where an 89-game 2020 season would begin on July 10 with all players receiving 100% of their prorated salaries and two years of expanded playoffs.
That’s a 25-game reduction from the MLBPA’s previous offer but still 13 games more than the owners’ previous 76-game offer with 75% prorated pay. Players aren’t likely to budge from their stance of accepting anything less than their full prorated pay, which they believe was collectively bargained in an initial agreement with owners on March 26. But owners contend that the March agreement was contingent on fans being in the stands, which would provide owners much needed ticket and concession revenue.
Where the owners and players do agree is that the playoffs could expand to as many as 16 teams for the next two seasons and that players who aren’t deemed as a high risk to contract coronavirus wouldn’t get paid or receive service time if they opted out of the 2020 season.
While it’s still possible the owners and players agree on a season longer than 50 games, which would likely have to be mandated by commissioner Rob Manfred, it’s not likely. It’s why I said last month that we should be prepared for no season at all.
As with every offer the players made deemed as not making enough concessions, the owners reportedly scoffed at it.
“It’s going too slow,” baseball insider Heyman tweeted, “and owners and players still aren’t close.”
That initial July 4 start date that would have been a great symbol for the sport? Pissed away.
