If the MLB Season Starts Late, Blame the Owners
Updates have been made to the MLB owners vs players negotiations, and things do not look good:
The meeting between the Major League Baseball Players Association and MLB is over. Little progress was made. The on-time opening of spring training at this point is in grave danger and, frankly, would take a miraculous deal coming together to rescue. A delay feels inevitable.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 1, 2022
Now, it’s easy to say this is the result of both sides not working together, and that’s not totally wrong. They should be working much more than they currently are, as Ben Porter points out in Twitter:
I don't really understand why MLB and MLBPA don't just sit in a room for 8 hours a day. Why the hour long meetings and then try again next week? Just hammer it out
— Ben Porter (@Ben13Porter) February 1, 2022
That said, in my eyes there’s significantly more blame to be placed on the owners for this situation. Why is that?
The Owners Caused the Lockout
On December 2nd, it was the owners that initiated the lockout of the players. This was due to the fact that a new collective bargaining agreement was not made before the old one expired. As Jeff Passan notes in his ESPN article, the Lockout is a management strategy, not an employees’ strategy. It’s the owners who are refusing to work with the players.
And it’s not like they’ve made much of an effort in ending the lockout. Jeff Passan again notes 43 days passed between the lockout and the first major meeting between the two sides. In this meeting, the owner’s proposal was nowhere near the desired one of the MLBPA. Which brings me to my next point:
The Owners Are Not Meeting the Players in the Middle
The players have their demands, but have walked back on some of their desires in order to try to meet the owners in the middle. The owners’ proposals have done nothing of the sort. According to insider sources, the owners have barely budged on the amount of -bonus pool money to attribute to pre-arbitration players (just $10 million compared to the $105 million the players initially asked for) and have not negotiated anything significant that we know of. Meanwhile, the players decided to drop their proposal to start free agency a year earlier. And as was noted, these meetings are only 60-90 minutes long. If there were earnest negotiations, they would be meeting for much longer. And more often.
Billions vs. Millions
In addition to all of this, some things need to be put into perspective. The MLB owners make billions of dollars a year on baseball, while the players, who are the main draw of the sport, make comparatively little. Some end up signing $330 million contracts over thirteen years, like Bryce Harper did, but the vast majority of players will only make a few million in their career.
Of course, that’s still a ton of money, but consider this: the average MLB player salary was $4.17 Million in 2021. The average MLB career is 2.7 years. That’s $11.259 over an average MLB career. The lowest MLB owner’s net worth is the Red’s Robert H. Castellini at $400 Million. That’s 3,552% more than the average MLB player’s earnings. Seems like a steep difference. I think the owners can afford to concede some items to the players.
So, if you’re angry about the MLB lockout like so many are, make sure to put the blame on the owners for it.
Featured Image Source: thebigreadmachine.com
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– Pat Shuman (@PShu1996 on Twitter) Check out my other articles here!