Will The MLB Suspend The 2020 season

[mvp 78]

No one is forcing teams to give out those contracts. I'm fine with the players getting paid guaranteed most as for most of them it evens out as they begin their career young and dominant for pennies. For example, Rafael Devers was an MVP candidate for 600k a year last season.There is no way the players begin getting less power, especially when the owners are all making and are worth absurd amounts of money.

 

^^^

 

Love to be a billionaire who never takes any risks with my investments. Can only make money each year, never lose it! Let the employees take it on the chin!

[mvp 78]

IMO the bigger issue is the message the players and owners are sending to the public and fans in particular. That message is, "We're a bunch of millionaires playing baseball and a bunch of multi-millionaires (or in some cases billionaires) who own the teams and we are so greedy that we're unwilling to come to a reasonable compromise so we can continue to provide entertainment to you folks who aren't nearly as well off as we are."

 

Posters here don't represent the general public since we're rabid baseball fans, and we're sick of it. How well do you think this is playing with the casual fan? MLB should be very careful. They may very well be killing this goose that keeps laying golden eggs.

 

The reasonable compromise is: pay players based on the % of a season played (if 81 games, pay players 50% of their contract) and allow players to opt out of the season at no pay if they desire.

[mvp 78]

I don't recognize the author's name. He is not a baseball writer. Has ever written about MLB before.

 

He's apparently the sports reporter for HuffPo.

[mvp 78]

Anyway, here's Kevin Pillar's thoughts on the situation:

 

65% of players in the MLB make a million dollars or less.. just room for thought

 

Not a for sure thing you get two consecutive years, can be shuttled between minors/majors. Also their is a thing called tax, federal and every state you play in. Agency fees, plus living expenses. Guys work their whole life for that opportunity

 

players have a shelf life whether they like it or not. Owners do not. Players are what saved America once, and we can do it again. Fair is fair

 

Its about honor a contract that players committed to. I’m held responsible for rent in Boston because I signed a contract. A global pandemic didn’t get me out of writing a check every month despite not being there

 

No we are all privileged, don’t assume any risk, all live the lifestyle of the rich and famous, and don’t work hard. Minor league players have it made, especially this year when teams are deciding not to pay them.Everything just feel in our lap.. praise the lord #Sarcasm

 

Please don’t considering me flying around the country, interacting with many people everyday, and just wanting to come home to my wife and kids praying the don’t get sick. No risk on my end. Or just don’t see my family &explain to my 2 year old baseball and work is more important

 

No risk cause we teleport to the field everyday.

 

I don’t live in a bubble. I know how tough and how hard people work to survive. I have hard working parents, brother, friends and in laws. I get how fortunate I am to play baseball for a living bit I also know how much I’ve sacrificed and how much work I’ve put in to reaching...

[jad]

Anyway, here's Kevin Pillar's thoughts on the situation:

 

65% of players in the MLB make a million dollars or less.. just room for thought

 

Not a for sure thing you get two consecutive years, can be shuttled between minors/majors. Also their is a thing called tax, federal and every state you play in. Agency fees, plus living expenses. Guys work their whole life for that opportunity

 

players have a shelf life whether they like it or not. Owners do not. Players are what saved America once, and we can do it again. Fair is fair

 

Its about honor a contract that players committed to. I’m held responsible for rent in Boston because I signed a contract. A global pandemic didn’t get me out of writing a check every month despite not being there

 

No we are all privileged, don’t assume any risk, all live the lifestyle of the rich and famous, and don’t work hard. Minor league players have it made, especially this year when teams are deciding not to pay them.Everything just feel in our lap.. praise the lord #Sarcasm

 

Please don’t considering me flying around the country, interacting with many people everyday, and just wanting to come home to my wife and kids praying the don’t get sick. No risk on my end. Or just don’t see my family &explain to my 2 year old baseball and work is more important

 

No risk cause we teleport to the field everyday.

 

I don’t live in a bubble. I know how tough and how hard people work to survive. I have hard working parents, brother, friends and in laws. I get how fortunate I am to play baseball for a living bit I also know how much I’ve sacrificed and how much work I’ve put in to reaching...

 

Agree entirely. Add to this the fact that MLB has determined to off-load its minor-league system onto the taxpayers. (You know, like football, where the developmental league is provided by state-supported colleges and universities.). Of course, the fans mean nothing in this: those of us who might spend a few evenings a summer in a minor league game? What does MLB care about that? Cf. the NBA, which is trying to expand and control its developmental leagues. But then (unlike the NFL and the MLB), the NBA has a leader who believes in a harmonious relation between players and owners, and is not just a well-paid tool who lets owners play-act their macho fantasies through him.

[mvp 78]

Agree entirely. Add to this the fact that MLB has determined to off-load its minor-league system onto the taxpayers. (You know, like football, where the developmental league is provided by state-supported colleges and universities.). Of course, the fans mean nothing in this: those of us who might spend a few evenings a summer in a minor league game? What does MLB care about that? Cf. the NBA, which is trying to expand and control its developmental leagues. But then (unlike the NFL and the MLB), the NBA has a leader who believes in a harmonious relation between players and owners, and is not just a well-paid tool who lets owners play-act their macho fantasies through him.

 

And he's getting a ton of s*** online from entitled fans saying "you play a kids game" which is the dumbest argument of all time. They play a kids game that millions of people watch and spend a ton of money on. It's entertainment. Nobody calls for television actors to be paid less. Nobody calls for musicians to be paid less. It's no different. The players are much more like you and me. The owners are not.

[oldtimer]

And he's getting a ton of s*** online from entitled fans saying "you play a kids game" which is the dumbest argument of all time. They play a kids game that millions of people watch and spend a ton of money on. It's entertainment. Nobody calls for television actors to be paid less. Nobody calls for musicians to be paid less. It's no different. The players are much more like you and me. The owners are not.

 

You seem to be the primary poster these days. How you stay excited enough to bother escapes me. As far as I am concerned the season is toast and they can pack it in now. The product they could offer will be second rate. Do them all good to sit out a year.

[jad]

And he's getting a ton of s*** online from entitled fans saying "you play a kids game" which is the dumbest argument of all time. They play a kids game that millions of people watch and spend a ton of money on. It's entertainment. Nobody calls for television actors to be paid less. Nobody calls for musicians to be paid less. It's no different. The players are much more like you and me. The owners are not.

 

I know. But we see that in America all the time: when there's a dispute between CEO's and workers, the CEO's tend to be the ones that get our (not yours and mine!) sympathy. I guess people admire and support NOT those whose interests they share, but rather those who most represent what they themselves aspire to be. (E.g., "I'd like to be a complete a-hole who can make sexist and racist jokes at will, belittle everyone, never do a lick of work, stiff all those who work for me, and claim I am a victim of some evil plot no one but myself can discern.")

[mvp 78]

You seem to be the primary poster these days. How you stay excited enough to bother escapes me. As far as I am concerned the season is toast and they can pack it in now. The product they could offer will be second rate. Do them all good to sit out a year.

 

I love baseball. I miss not having NESN. I just want it back in any capacity, even a reduced schedule or weird playoff structure. I think it would be good for the national psyche and great for the game overall. If the first major professional sporting event is a football game, it'll be another nail in the coffin for MLB.

[mvp 78]

I know. But we see that in America all the time: when there's a dispute between CEO's and workers, the CEO's tend to be the ones that get our (not yours and mine!) sympathy. I guess people admire and support NOT those whose interests they share, but rather those who most represent what they themselves aspire to be. (E.g., "I'd like to be a complete a-hole who can make sexist and racist jokes at will, belittle everyone, never do a lick of work, stiff all those who work for me, and claim I am a victim of some evil plot no one but myself can discern.")

 

I grew up wanting to be Jim Rice or Dwight Evans, not Lou Gorman or Haywood Sullivan.

[Elktonnick]

I grew up wanting to be Jim Rice or Dwight Evans, not Lou Gorman or Haywood Sullivan.

I think the former two actually are better off financially than the latter two.were.

[mvp 78]

I think the former two actually are better off financially than the latter two.were.

 

Good. They were still ownership though. I root for the players, not the owners.

 

Sullivan then further earned the wrath of Red Sox Nation after the 1978 season when he allowed legendary pitcher Luis Tiant to leave for the Yankees as a free agent and, as he had done with Jenkins, Carbo and the others, dumped a clubhouse dissident, lefty pitcher Bill Lee, in a giveaway trade—in this case, to the Montreal Expos. In 1979, he raised eyebrows when he selected his son Marc Sullivan, who was not considered to have early-round talent, in the second round of baseball's amateur draft; the younger Sullivan would bat a paltry .186 in parts of five major league seasons.[10]

 

In December 1980, Sullivan faced the imminent free agency of Rick Burleson, Carlton Fisk and Fred Lynn—Boston's starting shortstop, catcher and center fielder, and the "up the middle" core of the ball club. The three players, represented by agent Jeremy Kapstein, had been embroiled in a contract dispute with the team in 1976, the first year of free agency, and hard feelings still lingered between them and owners Sullivan and Mrs. Yawkey. Sullivan was able to trade Burleson for value (young third baseman Carney Lansford and relief pitcher Mark Clear), but then failed to mail contract offers to Lynn and Fisk by MLB's mandated deadline, triggering binding arbitration and unintentionally speeding their free agency. Sullivan was forced to accept fifty cents on the dollar for Lynn in a trade to the California Angels, who then signed him to a multi-year contract, and then lost Fisk outright when the arbitrator declared him a free agent.[11] Fisk then played the rest of his Baseball Hall of Fame career as a member of the Chicago White Sox, retiring in 1993.

[Bellhorn04]

I love baseball. I miss not having NESN. I just want it back in any capacity, even a reduced schedule or weird playoff structure. I think it would be good for the national psyche and great for the game overall. If the first major professional sporting event is a football game, it'll be another nail in the coffin for MLB.

 

Well said.

[mvp 78]

It's fun watching the reruns of the 2003 WS on the Marlins channel, but I want some live baseball. Even an intrasquad spring training scrimmage. Something...

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

It's just different with baseball. Nobody complains about the salaries of singers or actors because most of us can't hold a tune or memorize and deliver a line from a script. Few complain about salaries of pro players in basketball or hockey or football, because few can dunk, skate or run as fast as we can into a 300-pounder running as fast as he can and survive.

 

But all of us, at one time in our lives, could swing a bat -- in teeball, Little League, softball, whiffle ball and beyond -- and most still think we can.

[Bellhorn04]

It's just different with baseball. Nobody complains about the salaries of singers or actors because most of us can't hold a tune or memorize and deliver a line from a script. Few complain about salaries of pro players in basketball or hockey or football, because few can dunk, skate or run as fast as we can into a 300-pounder running as fast as he can and survive.

 

But all of us, at one time in our lives, could swing a bat -- in teeball, Little League, softball, whiffle ball and beyond -- and most still think we can.

 

But none of us could hit major league pitching, and hopefully we realize that.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

But none of us could hit major league pitching, and hopefully we realize that.

 

Disagree -- more fans than ever have been on a level playing field with big leaguers the past three months on MLB: The Show!

[notin]

Disagree -- more fans than ever have been on a level playing field with big leaguers the past three months on MLB: The Show!

 

And when e-sports becomes a bigger deal in this country, that will matter...

[Bellhorn04]

And he's getting a ton of s*** online from entitled fans saying "you play a kids game" which is the dumbest argument of all time.

 

Any one who makes that argument in seriousness deserves a few good whacks in the head.

[jad]

And he's getting a ton of s*** online from entitled fans saying "you play a kids game" which is the dumbest argument of all time. They play a kids game that millions of people watch and spend a ton of money on. It's entertainment. Nobody calls for television actors to be paid less. Nobody calls for musicians to be paid less. It's no different. The players are much more like you and me. The owners are not.

 

I love baseball. I miss not having NESN. I just want it back in any capacity, even a reduced schedule or weird playoff structure. I think it would be good for the national psyche and great for the game overall. If the first major professional sporting event is a football game, it'll be another nail in the coffin for MLB.

 

Yup. Me too. I can't even jog past a tee-ball game without stopping and watching an inning or two.

[notin]

And he's getting a ton of s*** online from entitled fans saying "you play a kids game" which is the dumbest argument of all time. They play a kids game that millions of people watch and spend a ton of money on. It's entertainment. Nobody calls for television actors to be paid less. Nobody calls for musicians to be paid less. It's no different. The players are much more like you and me. The owners are not.

 

And their careers are insanely short in the majority of cases. The average career length in one study is 5.6 years (so, not enough time for the big money-making free agency). And 20% of the position players play less then one year....

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

And when e-sports becomes a bigger deal in this country, that will matter...

 

Problem is, they're the only deal right now... but Snell -- who won the players' tournament -- may be confusing fantasy with reality (I would insert a crack about fantasy groupies, but we're all pros there).

[notin]

Problem is, they're the only deal right now... but Snell -- who won the players' tournament -- may be confusing fantasy with reality (I would insert a crack about fantasy groupies, but we're all pros there).

 

I respet Snell's decision. He isn't coming from a place of entitlement.

 

This can be a very serious illness, and a player actually infected might be asymptomatic and notice no difference. But he also might experience serious lug damage, enough that he is no longer capable of playing at the required level.

 

Snell doesn't so much need the money,as he has a lot guaranteed over the next 3 seasons. But maybe he prefers not risking actually being able to play...

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

From a selfish stance, I want to watch the MLB again. But as for ultimate safety, it may not be practical; we're not Korea (at least geographically, to leave politics out of it).

[Elktonnick]

I think the former two actually are better off financially than the latter two.were.

The old players league folder rather quickly. Without owners there is no organized bsseball. Each needs the other to survive.

[mvp 78]

The old players league folder rather quickly. Without owners there is no organized bsseball. Each needs the other to survive.

 

That was 130 years ago.

[mvp 78]

I like following former Sox MiLBer Jeremy Barfield:

 

I shouldn’t be surprised the @Athletics are being cheapskates. I had to BUY my first TEAM-ISSUED equipment bag. Gets better. They tried to take it back at the end of Instructional League! “Ted Mart” waited til I was on the field to go in my locker & grab it.

 

I still got the bag 12 years later! f***ers wrote VAN on it to make it look like it belonged to the @vancanadians. Good thing I keep my receipts! Thanks for the memories @Athletics

 

A's trainer responds with:

 

@DontcallmeWhity

 

@vancanadians and @Athletics We haven’t had that policy in over 6yrs. And, TedMart doesn’t work for the A’s anymore. But I do remember bringing you down a bunch of food and snacks when you were in the DR. That seemed kinda nice.

 

Barfield responded with:

 

I was forced to go to Dominican Instructional League for 3 weeks & was paid a grand total of $21.37. The fact that you had to bring muscle milk from the states to supplement my diet (thanks again btw) proves my point. Bunk beds & s*** food for 400 pesos per week. Not nice.

 

Just a reminder that not every ballplayer right now is enjoying a 100M contract.

[Elktonnick]

That was 130 years ago.

 

There is a reason why no one has tried to organize a player's league in any professional sport. Whether it was 130 years ago or last week the point is the same. Players need owners. Your disrespect for the lessons of history is truly interesting.

[mvp 78]

There is a reason why no one has tried to organize a player's league in any professional sport. Whether it was 130 years ago or last week the point is the same. Players need owners. Your disrespect for the lessons of history is truly interesting.

 

Yes, the world is the same as it was 130 years ago. Baseball is consumed the exact same way. There is no difference between 1890 baseball and 2020 baseball.

[Elktonnick]

Yes, the world is the same as it was 130 years ago. Baseball is consumed the exact same way. There is no difference between 1890 baseball and 2020 baseball.

 

Like I said your disregard for history is interesting. I guess you don't believe in learning from past mistakes.