BREAKING NEWS

While writing this article, this tweet comes out:

Major League Baseball has asked the MLB Players Association if players can report to camp by July 1 and will sign off on health-and-safety protocols. The union has been asked to respond by 5 p.m. Tuesday.

In other words: MLB is planning on a season.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 23, 2020

But Jared Carrabis says this:

We’ve got all these tweets and reports about MLB having a season, but we’ve been burned so many times that I don’t think I’ll believe there’s a season until they’re actually playing games.

— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) June 23, 2020

I could not agree more with this. Look at what happened this past weekend as an example. A lot can change. Plus if players get sick then they will have to push back the season.

I am hoping that this is finally it but who knows.

Intro

If you are at all plugged in to Major League Baseball news you saw a lot happen this past week. From hearing that a deal is very close to being done to having no deal at all. Let’s start at the beginning of all of this craziness.

Wednesday 6/17

Breaking: MLB and players union are closing in on an agreement to play the 2020 season, via players. Deal expected to be for prorated pay and include expanded playoffs.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) June 17, 2020

Everyone sees this tweet and goes nuts. People were getting so excited to hear the news of baseball coming back. Not so fast.

There is no agreement between MLB and the MLBPA. MLB knows players must get full pro rata. League wants players to waive right to grieve. Expanded playoffs a part of this. Number of games is vital. Other issues, too. There is work to be done. But a pathway to a deal does exist.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 17, 2020

32 minutes later we go this tweet. As many of us thought a deal was on close. Players want a full prorated salary and owners unwilling to match that. The sides were still far apart. The players came up with a counter proposal with 70 games and full prorated salaries.

Thursday 6/18

One owner’s response to players proposal today: “DOA”

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) June 18, 2020

Not the tweet that people were expecting to see. But it makes sense when following everything that is going on between The MLB and The MLBPA. Players want more money and owners do not want to pay it.

Friday 6/19 – Sunday 6/21

The baseball world stayed pretty much the same throughout the weekend. Players did not want to negotiate any more. They just want to play and told the owners once again to just tell them when and where.

What Does This Mean?

Players know that at the end of the day this is not just for the 2020 season but the Collective Bargaining Agreement ends after the 2021 season. So whatever the players give now the owners will use when they renegotiate.

Players are smart and do not want to give in to what the owners want. If the players want to keep no salary cap and all the deals they have in place they cannot give in now.

My Thoughts

With the breaking news and everything to happen this past weekend I am not sure how to feel. I want to believe that there will be a baseball season, but no one knows what will happen. Also there have been a lot of new cases in southern states. So I am hoping players can stay healthy so they can play in the season. This is such a strange time and no one can predict what will happen next. So maybe this is finally the news that we have been waiting for. As always if you want to stay up to date follow my articles!

-Tom “Powder” Cadmus (@powder42308)