COVID-19 impact on MLB season

[JohnBriggs12]

I think this just proves Rob Manfred really isn't a baseball fan

 

I don't know that it's fair to blame Manfred. He's just a mouthpiece for what the owners want. I highly doubt he gets impacted in any way based on how $ is split up. If you side with players, then the owners are the enemy...not Manfred.

 

Leadership in a crisis is why the commissioner gets piles of money. Clearly Manfred hasn't been up to the task. The notion that players, none of whom have underlying medical conditions that put them at anything more than .000001% more risk than normal of dying from this virus or even being seriously ill, are able to use their "fear" as a negotiating tool is ridiculous. For heaven's sake, Nascar is putting them to shame as are every other major sport.

 

I'm 67 years old. I'm supposedly in the higher risk group. I'd have zero qualms about attending a game today in Miller Park provided the roof and panels were open, and the number of fans were limited to around 10,000 spread over the park. Heck I remember going to games in County Stadium late in Braves days and early Brewer days, where fans social distanced naturally.

[Ennder]

I think this just proves Rob Manfred really isn't a baseball fan

 

I don't know that it's fair to blame Manfred. He's just a mouthpiece for what the owners want. I highly doubt he gets impacted in any way based on how $ is split up. If you side with players, then the owners are the enemy...not Manfred.

 

Leadership in a crisis is why the commissioner gets piles of money. Clearly Manfred hasn't been up to the task. The notion that players, none of whom have underlying medical conditions that put them at anything more than .000001% more risk than normal of dying from this virus or even being seriously ill, are able to use their "fear" as a negotiating tool is ridiculous. For heaven's sake, Nascar is putting them to shame as are every other major sport.

 

I'm 67 years old. I'm supposedly in the higher risk group. I'd have zero qualms about attending a game today in Miller Park provided the roof and panels were open, and the number of fans were limited to around 10,000 spread over the park. Heck I remember going to games in County Stadium late in Braves days and early Brewer days, where fans social distanced naturally.

 

[REMOVED BY MODS] Yes the players have no reason to be scared, none of them have parents at home or wife's about to have babies, none of them have underlying conditions. Any player who is scared is an idiot and any commissioner that wants to see his players feel safe hates the game. This is just beyond silly. If the players can't be made to feel safe the season will not happen, a commissioner that wants the players to feel safe is a smart one, not one that isn't up to the task.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Feel like reality is somewhere between those two posts. The commissioner needs the players to feel safe, whether the danger is real or perceived. The actual threat to the players is infinitesimally small. There are ways to play games without putting their ""high risk" friends and family in danger.

[LouisEly]

[REMOVED BY MODS] Yes the players have no reason to be scared, none of them have parents at home or wife's about to have babies

Can you please share the source that says pregnant women and newborns are at high risk for developing serious illness? It's not on the CDC's list:

 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/index.html

[dpapo]

Linking an article about the Brewers opening up their Arizona facility to 40-man roster players who reside in Phoenix for individualized workouts. Maybe a sign that talks are progressing forward. Or maybe just a necessary first step in case talks go well.

 

https://www.mlb.com/brewers/news/brewers-open-spring-facility-to-roster-players

[Pugger]

The Tampa Bay Rays are opening up Tropicana Field for individual workouts tomorrow. Of course FL is almost ready for Phase 2 in reopening the state.

 

https://www.tampabay.com/sports/rays/2020/05/22/rays-expect-15-20-players-at-trop-for-first-workout-monday/

 

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/marlins-rays-set-to-reopen-facilities-to-players-for-individual-workouts-reports-say/

[homer]

Feel like reality is somewhere between those two posts. The commissioner needs the players to feel safe, whether the danger is real or perceived. The actual threat to the players is infinitesimally small. There are ways to play games without putting their ""high risk" friends and family in danger.

 

What about managers and coaches?

[TURBO]

Feel like reality is somewhere between those two posts. The commissioner needs the players to feel safe, whether the danger is real or perceived. The actual threat to the players is infinitesimally small. There are ways to play games without putting their ""high risk" friends and family in danger.

 

What about managers and coaches?

 

Have them manage from a location not in the dugout...

 

They could see the game, maybe even be in the dugout, but blocked off from the rest of the team.

[KeithStone53151]

[REMOVED BY MODS] Yes the players have no reason to be scared, none of them have parents at home or wife's about to have babies

Can you please share the source that says pregnant women and newborns are at high risk for developing serious illness? It's not on the CDC's list:

 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/index.html

 

I think he's off on the specific choices he made in pregnant women and newborns, but there is no shortage of reasons players could either be at risk themselves...or have a loved one at risk that they'd need to isolate from. I believe any season would involve the players completely quarantining themselves outside of baseball activities. Which is a pretty big ask.

 

One side note, I thought the players were being way more fair than they needed to be when they agreed to a prorated salary based on games played. These are guaranteed contracts. Once it's safe to play, the players should get their full salary to play whatever season there is to play. For owners to on top of that, ask them to take a greater paycut is just so ridiculous and greedy.

[adambr2]

[REMOVED BY MODS] Yes the players have no reason to be scared, none of them have parents at home or wife's about to have babies

Can you please share the source that says pregnant women and newborns are at high risk for developing serious illness? It's not on the CDC's list:

 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/index.html

 

One side note, I thought the players were being way more fair than they needed to be when they agreed to a prorated salary based on games played. These are guaranteed contracts. Once it's safe to play, the players should get their full salary to play whatever season there is to play. For owners to on top of that, ask them to take a greater paycut is just so ridiculous and greedy.

 

I don't think it's this simple, MLB with fans and without fans is apples and oranges, revenue-wise. A fanless revenue model for baseball would never be enough to pay for the current salaries. Sure, TV contracts do help some but a team like the Brewers would still stand to lose substantial amounts of money with prorated salaries. I don't really expect owners to operate at a loss.

 

However, if this is something they did indeed agree to back in March, they should honor that agreement. It's inexplicable to me that fanless baseball wasn't apparently something anticipated in the agreement both sides signed in late March and that there wouldn't be something in there that specifically addresses that possibility.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Color me whatever, but I think the players using their families as a reason we can't have a season is kind of a joke. At this point we're looking at 2-4 months of baseball. They can't sack up and do that? A lot of other people do every day, for a lot less money. I'm sure there are some cases where a player really can't isolate and playing ball would not work, and those cases should be handled differently.

 

But it feels more like a bargaining chip to me than an actual concern that they have. I'd empathize more if they just said "It's about the money, and we want what was promised."

 

I agree that it is a huge ask, but this is an exceptional time. If they're going to dig their heels in and expect a normal environment minus the fans, just call it off now because there's no way it's happening.

[JackNicholson1974]

First, I am pro player, 100%. But we are at a point now that one side or the other simply needs to say it gets done by June 1 or no season. Done by June 1, Spring training part II by June 10th and Season by July 1 or just call it off. Nobody wants a 60 game season. July-Aug-September allows for almost 100 games if you go to early October. Have playoffs in a southern state and all teams at same location so they can go well into November if needed.

 

This pandemic is developing very, very slowly. Nothing much will change between now and June 15th for example in regards to knowing more about the pandemic. Just figure it out, or call it off. enough with the unknowns.

[adambr2]

Just go ahead and cancel the season at this point, I'm about done anyway. No other professional sports league is having such a struggle getting going again for economic reasons, they're having trouble getting going again for the right reasons. It's an embarrassment for a sport which is already a dying breed among youth, and labor strife again in a year or two is almost inevitable.

 

Baseball may be playing empty stadium games for a significant amount of time for reasons other than a virus.

[owbc]

Just go ahead and cancel the season at this point, I'm about done anyway. No other professional sports league is having such a struggle getting going again for economic reasons, they're having trouble getting going again for the right reasons. It's an embarrassment for a sport which is already a dying breed among youth, and labor strife again in a year or two is almost inevitable.

 

Baseball may be playing empty stadium games for a significant amount of time for reasons other than a virus.

 

As long as they have a deal by June 1 there is no impact to the timeline.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I think this is posturing, to be honest. They'll make a deal when they have to and not any earlier.

[adambr2]

June 1st is probably not a hard deadline anyway. But I am probably more talking out of annoyance and frustration than anything.

[rickh150]

My guess is that there is no season because of the money.... the players have to back waaaaaay off of their position right now, and their historically tough stance in negotiations will keep them from a deal. Their union's reputation alone will not allow a deal to take place.

Then there are the safety measures and the limits that will be put on players.... where and when they go, strict routines, less family time and whatnot. Another big hurdle. Ultimately, if one or 30 baseball players gets the virus, what would be the protocol? How could the games continue? Do games stop for a day, a week? Too many bad outcomes. But yeah, the money dooms this, IMO.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I'd still guess some kind of season takes place because some money is better than 0 money. But total cancellation wouldn't shock me at this point. Guessing it wouldn't shock anyone.

[KeithStone53151]

I think this is posturing, to be honest. They'll make a deal when they have to and not any earlier.

 

Right, they'll start talking more seriously about an hour before the deadline. It's super important to posture for as long as possible.

[homer]

Deadlines spur action.

[JosephC]

I'd still guess some kind of season takes place because some money is better than 0 money. But total cancellation wouldn't shock me at this point. Guessing it wouldn't shock anyone.

 

The 50/50 revenue split seems like the most logical way to move forward considering the unknowns involved. It seemed like both side dismissed this idea in an awful hurry, which probably meant it would turn out to be a fair deal. It certainly seems to work for the other leagues.

 

I'd still be surprised if the season was cancelled. We are dealing with what rates as two of the greediest groups of people on the face of the earth. To think that they would let what figures to be 3+ billion dollars slip through their fingers is somewhat absurd. If it's killed because of legitimate safety concerns from the players, that's one thing. But if the season is lost because Manfred and Clark can't get the money aspect figured out, then both the owners and the players should look for new leadership immediately.

[rickh150]

What would a 50-50 revenue split look like? Is it the same as revenue sharing? Does this mean ALL revenue is pooled from the upcoming season with half going to players and the other half to owners? Each owner gets an even split and players get money proportional to their contract comparable to other players?

Help, please...

[JosephC]

What would a 50-50 revenue split look like? Is it the same as revenue sharing? Does this mean ALL revenue is pooled from the upcoming season with half going to players and the other half to owners? Each owner gets an even split and players get money proportional to their contract comparable to other players?

Help, please...

 

As I understand it, for other leagues, some minor revenue streams are exempt from being included in the sharing but they are minor. For example, in 2018 the Packers revenue was 455 million, the player's pay was 213 million. So, just using the rough number, the players got just under 47%. I want to say that the CBA called for 48% at the time when looking at all the non-exempt revenue, so there is a difference but it isn't huge.

 

I don't know if baseball owners had any revenue exemptions carved out for a shortened 2020 season...it had been reported as a 50/50 split. Even if it wasn't a true 50/50 split, it probably would have been really close to that number.

 

Please keep in mind that I have no interest in getting into an owners/players, who should win, argument with these last couple of posts. My point is, even after all the revenue losses, there will still likely be the opportunity for 3 billion in revenue and it's a complete failure by both sides if money ends up killing the season. And again, if players balk because of legitimate health concerns, that would be a completely different story.

[AdvantageSchneider]

Are the big stars really going to want to play for this money? The Harpers, Trouts, Kershaws, etc will just sit out, won't they? Even guys like Mookie Bets isn't going to risk a $200-$250M payday for $7M. So even if this passes by like a 70-30 split I envision the end product being put out on the field will be very watered down. It seems like a very penny wise pound foolish approach by the owners.

[adambr2]

Are the big stars really going to want to play for this money? The Harpers, Trouts, Kershaws, etc will just sit out, won't they? Even guys like Mookie Bets isn't going to risk a $200-$250M payday for $7M. So even if this passes by like a 70-30 split I envision the end product being put out on the field will be very watered down. It seems like a very penny wise pound foolish approach by the owners.

 

That's just not how a union works and it would defeat the purpose of having one. Either they're all in it together or they are not. If the MLBPA passes an agreement, no individual player is sitting out the season because of the money. It would be a horrible look, there has to be solidarity in their decision.

 

Now yes, they cannot physically force them to play and there may be players here and there who choose not to. But those players will certainly cite health concerns and not money, and may still be in violation of their contract to refuse to play if MLB and the MLBPA both agree that the approach is safe.

 

It's already not a great look for the higher paid players in MLB if they simply don't want to play because they don't want to play for partial money while their union counterparts making the league minimum and maybe trying to get their career started are quietly pleading to get the season going but fear speaking out against the stars. It reminds me of the recent CBA passed by the NFL where stars were generally against the agreement but the little guys at the bottom who benefitted more outnumbered the stars and so the CBA passed.