Official *MLB Season Delayed* Thread

[revo]

this is a Sports Business Journal reporter:


Eric Fisher
@EricFisherSBG
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred says on CNN he has "great confidence" league will be able to make a deal with MLBPA to address both economics of truncated season w/o attending fans, and address health concerns. Time will tell, and big questions still to be answered.
9:16 PM · May 14, 2020

Eric Fisher
@EricFisherSBG
·
3m
Replying to
@EricFisherSBG
Manfred says players who have concerns about safety of returning will not be forced to return.

Eric Fisher
@EricFisherSBG
·
3m
Manfred says losses of not playing the 2020 season will approach $4 billion.

Interestingly, Manfred also said if a player or players test positive, they would just isolate those affected and move onward, rather than quarantine an entire team.

[Ken]

Whether it is millionaires versus billionaires or small business owners who barely scrape by versus their minimum wage employees, the bottom line is the same.

Wow, I disagree completely. The bottom line is not the same at all.

[Art Vandelay]

It sounded bad. What he meant wasn't as bad; I imagine he was letting off steam--he was going to make enough money this year to never have to work again, and now he won't. Baseball games have ads for golf digest and old fart medicine. Sadly, their base is not too much the 9-5 blue collar fan, at least not outside of the northeast. I am not so sure we particularly disagree on the main points here. The headlines on his comments were horrible. I am sure someone from the MLBPA has had a conversation with him.

the optics of what snell said are awful. as for salary, you are somewhat correct. snell has never made a million (salary was half a million in 2019) but has signed a $50 million dollar contract, making $7,600,000 in 2020, and going higher each season over the next 4 years.

[Sour Masher]

Here's the thing about fans....they are forgiving if/when a player is helping their team win. These comments make non-fans dislike Snell, but Tampa fans will cheer him if/when he pitches for their team. His statements, while insensitive to the plight of the people who pay to watch him play a game, are not unforgivable. Some may even appreciate his honesty. This will all blow over if he plays this year. If it doesn't, and this will go for any top level players, I think fans will be mad at that, just as they were mad at Sandy Koufax for not playing on the Sabbath. But there again, if those players come back and help their teams win, even skipping this year will be forgiven, and the boos will change to cheers eventually. Fans are a forgiving bunch, as long as you are playing for their team. Fans have forgiven far worse behavior from players than selfishness and tone-deaf statements.

[cavebird]

Wow, I disagree completely. The bottom line is not the same at all.

The same principles apply, no? Or should employees simply stop seeking higher wages when they reach a certain point? The same bottom line that I am discussing is the divvying of money between the capital source (i.e. ownership) and the labor source (i.e. employees)---how it ends up, of course, varies, but that is the same bottom line about negotiations. How do you think that is different?

[revo]

Nolan Arenado and Bryce Harper both publicly came out to support Snell.

[GwynnInTheHall]

Nolan Arenado and Bryce Harper both publicly came out to support Snell.

Dear baseball, see you in 2021

[cavebird]

Dear baseball, see you in 2021

This is all silliness and posturing. If they come up with a way to get the players to think it is safe to play and the owners don't insist on a salary cap, they'll find a solution. I don't know if they can get past the safety part, however; that is beyond everyone's control to an extent.

[Ken]

This is all silliness and posturing. If they come up with a way to get the players to think it is safe to play and the owners don't insist on a salary cap, they'll find a solution. I don't know if they can get past the safety part, however; that is beyond everyone's control to an extent.

Agreed, it's no surprise that the players want more money, just as it's no surprise that the owners want more money. I suspect they'll come to agreement, since not having a season means both sides have less money.

[Ken]

Here's the thing about fans....they are forgiving if/when a player is helping their team win. These comments make non-fans dislike Snell, but Tampa fans will cheer him if/when he pitches for their team. His statements, while insensitive to the plight of the people who pay to watch him play a game, are not unforgivable. Some may even appreciate his honesty. This will all blow over if he plays this year. If it doesn't, and this will go for any top level players, I think fans will be mad at that, just as they were mad at Sandy Koufax for not playing on the Sabbath. But there again, if those players come back and help their teams win, even skipping this year will be forgiven, and the boos will change to cheers eventually. Fans are a forgiving bunch, as long as you are playing for their team. Fans have forgiven far worse behavior from players than selfishness and tone-deaf statements.

No doubt you are correct here. With the laundry list of players across professional sports committing numerous crimes, they are almost invariably forgiven. This didn't even reach that level, so it will certainly be glossed over as well.

[cavebird]

No doubt you are correct here. With the laundry list of players across professional sports committing numerous crimes, they are almost invariably forgiven. This didn't even reach that level, so it will certainly be glossed over as well.

And, hey, they aren't really doing anything to hurt the fans here or other people, etc.

[Ken]

And, hey, they aren't really doing anything to hurt the fans here or other people, etc.

Correct, unless it leads to the fans missing out on enjoying a season.

[revo]

One interesting bit of fallout from a Universal DH in a shortened '20 season is if it's not continued, you might find a host of players who don't qualify at any position in a league where the DH no longer exists.

[Judge Jude]

that's not a problem, I don't think.

it's not that unusual for a player to have spent the season before in the minors, but gets a position.

Jed Lowrie of the Mets only qualifies off 2019 as a PH/IL after going 0 for 7 total. so we just give him his 2018 position qualifications.

[cavebird]

Correct, unless it leads to the fans missing out on enjoying a season.

But who is doing that, the players or the owners?