I first want to thank you for your continued support of the great game of baseball. This past season, we were reminded of how the national pastime can bring us together and restore our hope despite the difficult challenges of a global pandemic. As we began to emerge from one of the darkest periods in our history, our ballparks were filled with fans; the games were filled with excitement; and millions of families felt the joy of watching baseball together.
That is why I am so disappointed about the situation in which our game finds itself today. Despite the league’s best efforts to make a deal with the Players Association, we were unable to extend our 26 year-long history of labor peace and come to an agreement with the MLBPA before the current CBA expired. Therefore, we have been forced to commence a lockout of Major League players, effective at 12:01am ET on December 2.
I want to explain to you how we got here and why we have to take this action today. Simply put, we believe that an offseason lockout is the best mechanism to protect the 2022 season. We hope that the lockout will jumpstart the negotiations and get us to an agreement that will allow the season to start on time. This defensive lockout was necessary because the Players Association’s vision for Major League Baseball would threaten the ability of most teams to be competitive. It’s simply not a viable option. From the beginning, the MLBPA has been unwilling to move from their starting position, compromise, or collaborate on solutions.
When we began negotiations over a new agreement, the Players Association already had a contract that they wouldn’t trade for any other in sports. Baseball’s players have no salary cap and are not subjected to a maximum length or dollar amount on contracts. In fact, only MLB has guaranteed contracts that run 10 or more years, and in excess of $300 million. We have not proposed anything that would change these fundamentals. While we have heard repeatedly that free agency is “broken” – in the month of November $1.7 billion was committed to free agents, smashing the prior record by nearly 4x. By the end of the offseason, Clubs will have committed more money to players than in any offseason in MLB history.
We worked hard to find compromise while making the system even better for players, by addressing concerns raised by the Players Association. We offered to establish a minimum payroll for all clubs to meet for the first time in baseball history; to allow the majority of players to reach free agency earlier through an age-based system that would eliminate any claims of service time manipulation; and to increase compensation for all young players, including increases in the minimum salary. When negotiations lacked momentum, we tried to create some by offering to accept the universal Designated Hitter, to create a new draft system using a lottery similar to other leagues, and to increase the Competitive Balance Tax threshold that affects only a small number of teams.
We have had challenges before with respect to making labor agreements and have overcome those challenges every single time during my tenure. Regrettably, it appears the Players Association came to the bargaining table with a strategy of confrontation over compromise. They never wavered from collectively the most extreme set of proposals in their history, including significant cuts to the revenue-sharing system, a weakening of the competitive balance tax, and shortening the period of time that players play for their teams. All of these changes would make our game less competitive, not more.
To be clear: this hard but important step does not necessarily mean games will be cancelled. In fact, we are taking this step now because it accelerates the urgency for an agreement with as much runway as possible to avoid doing damage to the 2022 season. Delaying this process further would only put Spring Training, Opening Day, and the rest of the season further at risk – and we cannot allow an expired agreement to again cause an in-season strike and a missed World Series, like we experienced in 1994. We all owe you, our fans, better than that.
Today is a difficult day for baseball, but as I have said all year, there is a path to a fair agreement, and we will find it. I do not doubt the League and the Players share a fundamental appreciation for this game and a commitment to its fans. I remain optimistic that both sides will seize the opportunity to work together to grow, protect, and strengthen the game we love. MLB is ready to work around the clock to meet that goal. I urge the Players Association to join us at the table.
Manfred
You know what made me pretty sure a deal would get done?
At about dinnertime Bob Nightengale tweeted out that the sides were far apart.
Guys - if Nightengale says something, the opposite is ALWAYS true. He's the CoMo of baseball writers. I have truly no idea how the hell this guy still has a job. [Reply]
This really surprises me, that they are going to probably get this done tonight. Hopefully the players don't have in too much. Fuck the owners. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
I was really excited to see Theo Epstein added to a sort of MLB competition committee. That guy is incredibly smart and truly cares about the game.
I'm betting his input will be strongly considered.
I liked Theo's observations and insights but banning the shift is not the answer. [Reply]
Among the biggwst issues left: luxury tax system (the proposed new first threshold starts at $220M & ends at $230), the pre-arb bonus pool (proposed $25M) and the league minimum salary (proposed $675,000 & rising $10,000 a year).
Among the biggwst issues left: luxury tax system (the proposed new first threshold starts at $220M & ends at $230), the pre-arb bonus pool (proposed $25M) and the league minimum salary (proposed $675,000 & rising $10,000 a year).
Looks like they've called it a night and extended deadline to 5 p.m. today. Seems like the players are getting a pretty decent deal. It's not exactly what they wanted, but very rarely do you get exactly what you want in a labor negotiation. [Reply]
By all accounts the players were trying to ‘make up’ for getting their asses kicked during the previous CBA negotiations.
Once they dispensed with that idea there was some progress.
The PA wasn’t moving for weeks. The owners will always take more shit in these negotiations but the players needed to demonstrate a willingness to deal before this could go anywhere. [Reply]
What would be the argument against having a quasi Euro soccer rule that a richer club can pay a poorer one to acquire and extend a player in the last year of their contract at a set rate? [Reply]
Originally Posted by Discuss Thrower:
What would be the argument against having a quasi Euro soccer rule that a richer club can pay a poorer one to acquire and extend a player in the last year of their contract at a set rate?
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
I was really excited to see Theo Epstein added to a sort of MLB competition committee. That guy is incredibly smart and truly cares about the game.
I'm betting his input will be strongly considered.
Hopefully his first reco is to get rid of Manfred. [Reply]
Originally Posted by BWillie:
I feel like MLB is in a unique situation. It's kind of a dying sport. It's probably one reason the players don't like what they are being offered. As popularity wanes, so does resources and pay.
NBA while it has dwindled a bit in fandom domestically since the 90s - it's made up in the international market. NFL is the NFL and is king and is just a monster so that isn't going away, especially with fantasy football and draft kings coming to fruition. MLS is getting bigger every year.
MLB is just kind of there with a super aging demographic.
Baseball will be fine. It will never be the king of sports in the US ever again, but there is still a love for it throughout the country. We have always had baseball and probably always will. The 162 game schedule dilutes the popularity some unlike the NFL or even to a point college football. Game 12 in the NFL has more impact than Game 42 in MLB. Granted the NFL does and will continue to dwarf MLB in popularity, but MLB will still be fine long term. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Ocotillo:
I liked Theo's observations and insights but banning the shift is not the answer.
Agreed. If parity is the most important thing, offense is a huge advantage for big market teams. That's why huge market teams seem to do best when the mlb tries to juice offense. Arguably the steroid era was way more driven by a smaller strike zone, hitter friendly parks and the expansion draft. And to no surprise huge market teams owned that era. The past few years Manfred has blatantly messed with the game by juicing baseballs and mind numbingly changing the rules on doctoring baseballs mid-season.
I know offense creates excitement but it hurts parity. [Reply]
Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501:
Agreed. If parity is the most important thing, offense is a huge advantage for big market teams. That's why huge market teams seem to do best when the mlb tries to juice offense. Arguably the steroid era was way more driven by a smaller strike zone, hitter friendly parks and the expansion draft. And to no surprise huge market teams owned that era. The past few years Manfred has blatantly messed with the game by juicing baseballs and mind numbingly changing the rules on doctoring baseballs mid-season.
I know offense creates excitement but it hurts parity.
I'm open to trying anything that might change hitters approaches.
I still maintain that we need to push every fence in the game back at least 10 feet and arguably more. Cheap power is the biggest problem in the sport at the moment.
Too many guys swing hard and hope they hit it. And when they do, they're rewarded with these 365 ft homers.
A homerun needs to be EARNED. And by pushing the fences back, you're going to get massive outfields that allow faster players to be work the gaps. Additionally, you push OFers back more to keep balls from getting over their heads so there's more green in front of them. You start driving BABIPs up and you'll see guys spend more energy on putting the ball in play instead of just trying to hit them out.
And to counter that rise, you'll see more and more jackrabbits in the OF; guys who typically don't hit for a ton of power. That kind of player will then have to contribute in other ways. That can be by stealing bases.
Higher BABIPs = more balls in play = more action on the field. [Reply]