MLB and MiLB 2020 Negotiations aren't going well

[Baldkin]

https://mlb.nbcsports.com/2019/12/14/major-league-baseball-threatens-to-walk-away-from-minor-league-baseball-entirely/

Major League Baseball responded with its own public statement last night. But rather than publicly rebut Minor League Baseball’s claims, or to simply say, consistent with Manfred’s statement on Wednesday, that it preferred to negotiate in private, it threatened to simply drop any agreement with Minor League Baseball and, presumably start its own minor league system bypassing MiLB entirely.

[JimH5]

I think I've had enough of Rob Manfred.

 

I'm with him on pace of action, but everything else, he seems to be a dud.

 

Noncompetitive teams, cheating scandals, the HR spike, a looming work stoppage, and now this MiLB stuff... He hasn't had many successes in his term as commissioner.

[jerichoholicninja]

Are there any rules that says MLB teams have to have MiLB affiliates or a certain number of them? I agree with the overall premise that there's probably a lot of wasted resources with the current set up, but why not just let MLB clubs decide to ditch minor league teams as they please instead of making this an MLB vs MiLB situation.

[Ennder]

I think I've had enough of Rob Manfred.

 

I'm with him on pace of action, but everything else, he seems to be a dud.

 

Noncompetitive teams, cheating scandals, the HR spike, a looming work stoppage, and now this MiLB stuff... He hasn't had many successes in his term as commissioner.

 

Huh? There are very few noncompetitive teams. Cheating is really no different than any other sport, no big deal here. The HR spike is way more about launch angle, the death of the low pitches and hitting tech than anything else though the baseball seams probably changed 5 years ago (not recently). There is no reason to believe a work stoppage is coming other than just being worried about the agreement coming to an end. MiLB is a dying part of baseball and has been for quite some time, it needs to be changed. He hasn't been a knockout but he has hardly been a bad commissioner so far.

[young guns]

Are there any rules that says MLB teams have to have MiLB affiliates or a certain number of them? I agree with the overall premise that there's probably a lot of wasted resources with the current set up, but why not just let MLB clubs decide to ditch minor league teams as they please instead of making this an MLB vs MiLB situation.

I know a team cant have more than 1 A-AAA. Dont know if it states they are required to have one. This whole thing is kind if silly. MLB seems to want to pass off a lot of the costs back on the minor leagues when they are making billions on the backs of the leagues.

[Jaylyn]

Trevor Bauer throwing some grenades at Manfred and now politicians are beginning to take notice! Grab the popcorn!

[wntrtxn21]

I think I've had enough of Rob Manfred.

 

I'm with him on pace of action, but everything else, he seems to be a dud.

 

Noncompetitive teams, cheating scandals, the HR spike, a looming work stoppage, and now this MiLB stuff... He hasn't had many successes in his term as commissioner.

 

Huh? There are very few noncompetitive teams. Cheating is really no different than any other sport, no big deal here. The HR spike is way more about launch angle, the death of the low pitches and hitting tech than anything else though the baseball seams probably changed 5 years ago (not recently). There is no reason to believe a work stoppage is coming other than just being worried about the agreement coming to an end. MiLB is a dying part of baseball and has been for quite some time, it needs to be changed. He hasn't been a knockout but he has hardly been a bad commissioner so far.

 

IMO there are quite a few noncompetitive teams. Orioles lost 108 games/Bluejays 95/White Sox 89/Royals 103/Tigers 114/Angels 90/Mariners 94/Marlins 105/Pirates 93/Rockies 91/Padres 92. That's more than 1/3 of all the teams. I guess it's all in your meaning of noncompetitive. By all indications the ball is the biggest reason for the huge spike in HRs. Guys are hitting homers with one-handed swings, swinging from their knees, and even off balance swings. MLB admits the seams are different than in prior years and they know the ball is juiced. But they say they can't come up with a reason why. You are right about bat angles. Almost everybody is using the slow-pitch softball swing and killing low pitches. That's why fewer and fewer pitchers are going there for strikes. It's also a reason for the monsterous amount of strikeouts.

[owbc]

One can only hope it doesn’t take a labor stoppage to get Manfred removed.

 

For all the faults of Selig there was never any doubt that he was trying to do what was right for the game. With Manfred I sometimes question if he even likes baseball. But he certainly likes making money, there’s no doubt about that.

 

The funny thing is that with politicians paying attention they have now lost all negotiating leverage and the underpaying of minor league players will likely receive further scrutiny. I don’t doubt that MiLB needs reforms but Manfred seems to completely incapable of doing anything without making a ton of people angry. Most MLB fans want reforms and rule changes but we don’t trust Manfred to do them properly or even tell us the truth about what they are doing.

[RollieTime]

I think I've had enough of Rob Manfred.

 

I'm with him on pace of action, but everything else, he seems to be a dud.

 

Noncompetitive teams, cheating scandals, the HR spike, a looming work stoppage, and now this MiLB stuff... He hasn't had many successes in his term as commissioner.

 

I’m with you on that. He needs to go. Sorry, but what do you expect out of a lawyer as commissioner? He’s going to twist the truth, use threatening tactics, find any way he can to discredit the other party, and use intimidation and coercion to get exactly what he wants instead of actually doing any type of real bargaining.

[NYChez]

Perhaps hating Rob Manfred will be the thing that unites Americans again. I can imagine even the most hard-core Republicans saying, “go get ‘em Bernie” on this one.

[Mr Southpaw]

When you sign 16, 17, and 18 year old players to million dollar contracts, you are going to have to develop them somewhere. MLB is just blowing smoke and should be ashamed. Each level of MiLB has its place in developing talent and MLB knows it. They would be cutting there own throats by getting rid of or reducing MiLB.

[Ennder]

IMO there are quite a few noncompetitive teams. Orioles lost 108 games/Bluejays 95/White Sox 89/Royals 103/Tigers 114/Angels 90/Mariners 94/Marlins 105/Pirates 93/Rockies 91/Padres 92. That's more than 1/3 of all the teams

 

Most of these teams aren't going to stay at those win totals though, having a bad year or two is very different than noncompetitive. Look at the NFL, there are 8 teams that have won 4 games or fewer right now. That is 25% of the league. There are a few more teams in the 5-6 win range that are going to end up being "noncompetitive" by seasons end as well. It is roughly the same.

 

Also calling a team with 89 or 90 losses noncompetitive is a huge stretch. Going 73-89 is not a non competitive team. That is like calling a 7-9 team noncompetitive in football.

[JohnBriggs12]

Manfred seemed to react gleefully to the outrageous contracts and the widening gap between the haves and the have not franchises. Whereas Bud always advocated for smaller markets being able to stay competitive, Manfred seems to me to be solely a big market commissioner. He apparently wants to turn MLB into the NBA who's regular season is a yawn. That'll mean a big spike in 100+ win teams and lots of teams losing 100 plus.

[TURBO]

I think I've had enough of Rob Manfred.

 

I'm with him on pace of action, but everything else, he seems to be a dud.

 

Noncompetitive teams, cheating scandals, the HR spike, a looming work stoppage, and now this MiLB stuff... He hasn't had many successes in his term as commissioner.

 

I’m with you on that. He needs to go. Sorry, but what do you expect out of a lawyer as commissioner? He’s going to twist the truth, use threatening tactics, find any way he can to discredit the other party, and use intimidation and coercion to get exactly what he wants instead of actually doing any type of real bargaining.

 

He sounds a lot like a politician.