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
Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501:
Well, the good news is that one of the worst commissioners in the history of sports will be managing this negotiation
I had it on mute but I saw what the differences were on ESPN. They really don’t look far apart. And it wasn’t about dollars. Why does this not get done? [Reply]
Blackout rules make it hard to follow when you live 3 hours away and you are considered in a blackout area. If I could actually watch the games regularly, I may go to Kaufmann for 4-5 games a year instead of zero. The parity in the league is god awful with the large markets still having a huge advantage to start the year. [Reply]
The players want more money. The owners want more money. They can't agree on how to divide a pie with many billions of dollars. So, they deprive us, the fans, of the game that we all loved. Furthermore, just as surely as I am typing this, the fans will be the ultimate losers in whatever final settlement there is. Prices will go up. Again. Some fans will be priced out of being able to attend games. The players win, the owners win, and the fans lose.
Unfortunately for them, they have forgotten one salient fact. It's neither the owners nor the players that really control the game. It is the fans that control the game. Major League Baseball does not get played without the support of the fans. Without the support of the fans, there is no money to be split. I didn't watch a single game of baseball all of last season until the World Series and I didn't miss it. Well, I did, but I got over it. It's time for all of us to turn our backs on Major League Baseball. Let it die. It will return eventually and it will be something far more reasonable. What we have now is not reasonable. [Reply]
I used to be a fan, but I'm tired of seeing big market teams in the WS every yar. Sure enough, teams like the 2014-5 Royals strike gold every blue moon, but LA, Atlanta, and the Yankees seem to get more than their fair share due to their payrolls. Until MLB establishes revenue sharing and a salary cap, it's just going to continue. Couple that with the average KC fan not being able to see a single game of the Royals without going to the ballpark or paying an arm and a leg for cable extra chanels --I say screw that. [Reply]
Originally Posted by oldman:
I used to be a fan, but I'm tired of seeing big market teams in the WS every yar. Sure enough, teams like the 2014-5 Royals strike gold every blue moon, but LA, Atlanta, and the Yankees seem to get more than their fair share due to their payrolls. Until MLB establishes revenue sharing and a salary cap, it's just going to continue. Couple that with the average KC fan not being able to see a single game of the Royals without going to the ballpark or paying an arm and a leg for cable extra chanels --I say screw that.
Would you believe if I told you that MLB has the most parity of any of the major sports? Certainly more than the NFL and NBA [Reply]
Originally Posted by Deberg_1990:
Would you believe if I told you that MLB has the most parity of any of the major sports? Certainly more than the NFL and NBA
Originally Posted by Carr4MVP:
MLBPA ruined baseball.
The strike of 1994 nearly killed the game.
It wasn't until the McGuire/Sosa steroids fueled home run race to 62 home runs that it began to recover.
Baseball is failing on a national level. But, people still go to games in person and watch "their" team on TV. The local cable money saved baseball too. [Reply]
Originally Posted by BigRedChief:
It wasn't until the McGuire/Sosa steroids fueled home run race to 62 home runs that it began to recover.
Baseball is failing on a national level. But, people still go to games in person and watch "their" team on TV. The local cable money saved baseball too.
Yes. Very little interest on a National level other than the hardcore fans.
But most sports are that way other than the NFL. Fans mostly care about their local regional team. If your local team is out of the race or bad, then Interest drops substantially. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Deberg_1990:
Would you believe if I told you that MLB has the most parity of any of the major sports? Certainly more than the NFL and NBA
Spin your numbers all you want, but teams are not on a level playing field, no where close. The next time the Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox lose 100 games, let's talk... [Reply]