MLB optimistic about starting season in late June

MLB has sent another proposal. No need for me to post tweets that give details since it will be rejected. Andrew McCutchen has already tweeted “LOL”
 
Probably bc it looks like the commissioner will force the players to abide...

https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...eball-season-no-agreement-players/5331170002/
Exactly. MLB can unilaterally decide to do a 50 game season. So they’re offering these other suggestions to see if the players will bite, but ultimately the league will just start the 50 game season. They know that’s going to hurt them come CBA negotiation time though.

Plus, this latest deal at 70% prorated works out to less than the players would earn in the 50 game season at 100%. The only thing that makes it somewhat palatable to players is the 80% prorated for playoffs. But even that won’t be enough.

My wonder is how many players will actually play once the league mandated the 50 game season. There will be such a bad taste in the players mouths by that point, I feel a lot will use the “high risk family member” out to avoid playing just to hurt the league.
 
Not sure why the owners keep putting out the same offer but worded differently. season isnt happening

cause the owners just keep trying to make it look like they are working to make a deal

when really all they are doing is wasting time and will get their awful 50 game plan they wanted all along

just don't play and work on the next cba now
 
And the fighting words in the last couple of proposals will make it harder to play this year and get a level CBA done.

Article in MLBTR on subject.
 
I did not think the players would blink, but they did. Owners win this round. But there’s a lot of bad feelings on both sides and this circus does not bode well for the coming CBA talks. I think the chances of a work stoppage during the 2021 season is over 50%. Probably far greater odds than that
 
I did not think the players would blink, but they did. Owners win this round. But there’s a lot of bad feelings on both sides and this circus does not bode well for the coming CBA talks. I think the chances of a work stoppage during the 2021 season is over 50%. Probably far greater odds than that

If there's a work stoppage the year after Covid, I'm not sure the sport recovers. It won't be fatal but it will diminish the sport.
 
I did not think the players would blink, but they did. Owners win this round. But there’s a lot of bad feelings on both sides and this circus does not bode well for the coming CBA talks. I think the chances of a work stoppage during the 2021 season is over 50%. Probably far greater odds than that

Players didn't blink. Agreement in March gave the commissioner power to implement a season. Owners have said all they could do was a 50 game season if full prorated salaries are given - in other words, 50 full game checks for 50 full games instead of the guaranteed 70% of prorated for 72 games, etc. Players are saying fine 50 games it is. The equation 50/162*X = Y/162*(.7X) results in a Y of 71.4 games. Players are saying we play 50 games and make the same money. OK.
 
Players didn't blink. Agreement in March gave the commissioner power to implement a season. Owners have said all they could do was a 50 game season if full prorated salaries are given - in other words, 50 full game checks for 50 full games instead of the guaranteed 70% of prorated for 72 games, etc. Players are saying fine 50 games it is. The equation 50/162*X = Y/162*(.7X) results in a Y of 71.4 games. Players are saying we play 50 games and make the same money. OK.

Not even that, the players are ready to file a grievance the second MLB sets the amount of games stating that the league isn’t offering the most games they can given the circumstances. So they’re forcing the league to implement a season between 48-55 games and then they’ll immediately grieve that the league isn’t giving them enough games. This is NOWHERE near over. Players could still outright strike and not play at all.

“Should MLB implement a schedule, the union is expected to file a grievance that the league did not fulfill its obligation to play the most games possible, sources told ESPN.”
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/29307988/mlb-players-reject-latest-offer-ask-league-set-2020-season-schedule
 
Yeah, this is not looking good. Neither side is going to want to give in to the other. Baseball was in the unenviable position of being the first sport to try to start and entire new season, rather than trying to finish out a season. So you have owners that haven’t earned any revenue for the season and players that haven’t been paid a single pay check yet. At least in sports like NHL and NBA, the owners have made their gate revenue for almost a full season, and players have received almost their entire seasons pay, so they’re more apt to work together to finish things out and crown a champ. Will also be interesting to see how NFL does when it comes closer to starting their season and if they have to have empty arenas as well.

But with the animosity now bred between MLB and the players association, I don’t think they’ll be able to come to an agreement without an outside arbiter and it also doesn’t bode well for the CBA.
 
I really think ownership has overplayed their hand here, especially given the players are the ones advocating for more baseball, and doubly especially given today’s report of MLB’s new massive TV deal with Turner for LCS rights. If ownership had negotiated in better faith (as opposed to offering variations of the exact same deal, dressed up as “new” counter-proposals), I think the owners could’ve purchased a lot of goodwill—with both players and fans—heading into negotiations for the next CBA.
 
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