There will not be any Major League Baseball games until April 14 at the earliest.
MLB and the Players Association were initially unable to come to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement during multiple days of negotiations in Florida, which led to the league's decision to cancel the first two regular-season series league-wide.
Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post noted the league announced it pushed Opening Day back to April 14, which means two more series in the 2022 regular season are now off the table.
The two sides are once again at an impasse, and it's difficult to feel optimistic there will be an agreement in the near future.
Throw in the reality that a number of free agents still need to sign with teams and players need time to ramp up before any type of regular season, and the 2022 campaign may not be happening anytime soon.
(Scott Polacek. “MLB Cancels 2 Additional Regular-Season Series; Opening Day Postponed to April 14.” Bleacher Report. March 9, 2022.)
I love Major League
Baseball, and I am an avid, lifelong fan of the Cincinnati Reds;
however, I, like so many others who support the league, fear MLB –
owners and players alike – are doing irreparable damage with their crippling
negotiations to the
game once known as “America's Pastime.” To those of us who think that baseball season means so much, the sad truth is becoming evident.
History highlights the real risks of a continued impasse: Between 1972 and 2004, the league suffered eight strikes and lockouts. In 1972, 86 games were cancelled; in 1981, it was 713 games; and the 1994-95 strike cost 938 games, including the entire 1994 postseason and World Series. It took baseball a decade to recover.
(David A. Lax and James K. Sebenius. “How to save Major League Baseball from itself.” The Boston Globe. December 9, 2021.)
Joel Sherman, sportswriter of the New York Post and MLB Network's baseball insider, says …
“MLB is venturing into a dangerous zone. There are those that will say the sport was here a quarter of a century ago. But the last time that the MLB was shut down for labor-related reasons 'to Zoom' meant to go fast. Destiny was an outcome and not a first-person, online, multi-person shooter game – all terms that would have been mostly gibberish in 1994-95. And if I offered up 'TikTok,' you would be criticizing me for abysmal spelling.
“The announcement by Manfred of canceled games led to fury among consumers, which is actually great news. The death knell is indifference. And that threatens to come on a lot faster in 2022 than 1994-95 as attention spans have shortened, choices have widened and baseballs hold on the national radar has slipped.”
(Joel Sherman. “MLB fans may not want to come back if it’s a long lockout.” New York Post. March 1, 2022.)
As a group of MLB owners attempts to kneecap the strong union, Rob Manfred, MLB Commissioner, said (with a straight face) …
“The concern about our fans is at the very top of our consideration list.”
Mike Vaccaro, lead sports columnist for the New York Post, replied …
“The idea that Manfred – who, among other things, was captured by a photographer practicing his golf swing, Johnny Carson-style, as the seconds ticked away toward his self-imposed Armageddon – would even think to mention fans was laughable.
“Fans are never part of the equation. In truth, fans maybe oughtn’t be part of the equation, because both sides make it perfectly clear that they are about their own interests first, foremost and forever, regardless of whatever verbal bones they wish to throw to their constituents.”
(Mike Vaccaro. “Baseball’s feuding factions in danger of freezing fans’ souls forever.” New York Post. March 2, 2022.)
Some of the biggest issues in previous negotiations between the league and MLB Players Association were the competitive balance tax threshold, the pre-arbitration bonus pool and minimum salaries. However, baseball's problems are not just about money issues
Jared Diamond, sports writer for The Wall Street Journal, talks of other issues …
“Baseball has a dilemma that goes far beyond the economic system at the heart of the dispute between the owners and players’ union. The average game last season lasted 3 hours, 11 minutes, an all-time record. The league-wide batting average of .244 was the lowest in nearly 50 years, with hitters frequently overmatched by an unending parade of relief pitchers cycling in from the bullpen. Nearly a quarter of all plate appearances ended in a strikeout. Television ratings for the World Series were the second-lowest ever recorded, only surpassing the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign.
“These problems could all be addressed with rule changes designed to improve the pace of the game, inspire action, showcase players’ athletic prowess and create a more exciting and entertaining product on the field. Baseball’s success moving forward likely depends on whether the people in charge can find a way to return the sport to something young fans want to watch.”
(Jared Diamond. “Why Baseball’s Labor Showdown Won’t Solve the Problems Fans Care About. The Wall Street Journal. December 13, 2021.)
As the work stoppage rolls on with no end in sight, it appears rule changes will have to wait. Diamond says rule changes have historically been part of separate conversations with the union. Including something like a pitch clock in bargaining gives the players leverage, as they could use it as a chip to trade for some of the economic gains they are seeking.
The owners see no benefit to doing that, especially since they might not even need the players’ approval. The expired CBA gives Manfred the ability to unilaterally implement rule changes after giving the players’ union one year of notice, a provision that could carry over into the next deal.
Research has shown that requiring pitchers to work quicker could decrease fastball velocity, the rise of which has contributed dramatically to the increase in strikeouts (something many fans view as boring and bad for the game). As teams have gotten better at putting fielders in the right places, ground balls have become a bad proposition for hitters, which also contributes to the increase in the strikeout rate. Eliminating the shift might not speed games up, but it would possibly change the aesthetics of the game.
Another problem – perennially bad teams. Granted, money does not ensure success. Every year some teams with lower payrolls surprise the experts with great seasons, but MLB has has made feeble attempts to close the wealth gap among teams.
When a team goes over a set amount, they are taxed. The “competitive balance tax” rules, however, are weak. They do not make a dent in the richest and poorest of the teams. In the 2021 season, the richest team spent over $250 million and the poorest paid under $50 million. Until that discrepancy changes, baseball, in general, will suffer.
The Bottom Line
Fans largely see the recent squabbles and cancellations as rich athletes and executives caring more about money than about the game. They even believe MLB has a responsibility to deliver results for a country reeling physically, emotionally, economically, and psychically during a COVID-19 pandemic. In other words, those who love baseball see an obligation – a need to “step up to the plate and play ball” now … not later.
To most fans, the immediacy of agreement seems especially crucial to healing. They believe having a baseball season requires a significant sacrifice by those players and owners – parties who fans see as “haves” during a time they have suffered as “have-nots.”
Besides that, in a much-shortened season, pennant races and competition suffer. Any winners are considered as “champions of nothing really,” and the game suffers further damage.
Any family with limited funds realizes a trip to the MLB ballpark puts a significantly lightens the wallet. The MLB average for the 2021 season was at 253 U.S. dollars (topping out at $376.49 for a Chicago Cubs game). I frankly view these figures as the barest of minimums. One must also consider transportation costs and other incidentals for traveling in a typical small-market scenario.
The Fan Cost Index comprises the prices of four average-price tickets, two small draft beers, four small soft drinks, four regular-size hot dogs, parking for one hour, two game programs and two least-expensive, adult-size adjustable caps. Costs were determined by telephone calls with representatives of the teams, venues and concessionaires. Identical questions were asked in all interviews.
(Christina Gough. “Fan Cost Index of MLB teams 2021.” Statista. September 28, 2021.)
Major League Baseball cannot afford another self-inflicted wound. It has been losing the battle for fan interest to other sports and forms of entertainment. In response to the “bloodletting,” David A. Lax and James K. Sebenius of The Boston Globe have a suggestion to aa “virtual lockout” (by the owners) or “virtual strike” (by the players). They developed this with their colleagues from Harvard Business School, Michael Wheeler and the late Howard Raiffa:
“Either (a lockout or a strike) would permit the two sides to battle it out, just as in a standard lockout or strike but while still playing scheduled games. Such a mechanism would enable a financial fight between owners and players to proceed without harming the sport, the fans, or the many workers dependent on full ballparks – and would provide a potent incentive to settle sooner. The two sides should put this kind of insurance policy in place now, in case negotiations become irretrievably stuck and tempers boil.
“While the season would continue as usual under this proposal, neither side would receive any more money than the minimum necessary to put on the games – no meaningful revenue from the dominant sources, including the gate and media rights. Instead, that money would be put into escrow under the control of a neutral outsider. The only outflow from this pot would be to cover the direct expenses of playing each game – lights, ballpark personnel, health and other insurance, and so on.
“Once both sides agree to a new CBA, revenues and salaries could again flow to owners and players. Until then, the funds would swell the escrow pot by hundreds of millions of dollars monthly. This largesse would be distributed only after the two sides made a separate deal on how to divide the pot by negotiation, arbitration, a coin flip, or something else.”
(David A. Lax and James K. Sebenius. “How to save Major League Baseball from itself.” The Boston Globe. https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/how-to-save-major-league-baseball-from-itself/ar-AARELDe. December 9, 2021.)
Why would owners and players put on games for nearly nothing? Under a traditional lockout or strike, the escalating pain from forgone revenues is supposed to pressure all sides to settle; whoever holds out the longest wins. But all the revenue that would have been earned during the un-played games goes elsewhere – likely to other entertainment competitors – and is forever lost to players and owners.
Lax and Sebenius say …
“By contrast, each virtual lockout combatant could inflict the same costs on the other side for as long as it pleased while holding out for its preferred deal. Yet when a contract deal is struck in the virtual version, there would be a brimming escrow pot to split – and an undamaged sport.
“Surely this scenario beats the identical deal ultimately reached via the traditional process, which entails a huge pile of burned-up revenue, no bonus for settling, a critically wounded sport, unhappy fans, and collateral damage …
“Under our virtual scheme, such vengeful souls could still punish the other side by simply refusing agreement. If players believe the owners’ unity will collapse under the pressure of withheld gate and media revenues, they can hold out, thus denying revenue to the owners. If the owners want to punish the players or believe they can outlast them, a virtual strike works too; the players will go without regular paychecks until enough owners agree to a deal.
“Yet while the impasse continues, games will be still played. Revenues will augment the inaccessible pot, offering no relief to each side’s financial pain – yet serving as an increasing lure to agreement.”
(David A. Lax and James K. Sebenius. “How to save Major League Baseball from itself.” The Boston Globe. https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/how-to-save-major-league-baseball-from-itself/ar-AARELDe. December 9, 2021.)
And, say hey, Willie, desperate times call for desperate measures. Maybe MLB needs something “desperate” to happen to salvage both a season and fan support. Whatever needs to be done, needs to be done now. With frustration high and hope waning, baseball support looks to be on the verge of reaching an all-time low. The fans are upset and who can blame them?
A Ballad of Baseball Burdens
By Franklin Pierce Adams (1881 – 1960)
The burden of hard hitting. Slug away
Like Honus Wagner or like Tyrus Cobb.
Else fandom shouteth: “Who said you could play?
Back to the jasper league, you minor slob!”
Swat, hit, connect, line out, get on the job.
Else you shall feel the brunt of fandom’s ire
Biff, bang it, clout it, hit it on the knob—
This is the end of every fan’s desire.
The burden of good pitching. Curved or straight.
Or in or out, or haply up or down,
To puzzle him that standeth by the plate,
To lessen, so to speak, his bat-renoun:
Like Christy Mathewson or Miner Brown,
So pitch that every man can but admire
And offer you the freedom of the town—
This is the end of every fan’s desire.
The burden of loud cheering. O the sounds!
The tumult and the shouting from the throats
Of forty thousand at the Polo Grounds
Sitting, ay, standing sans their hats and coats.
A mighty cheer that possibly denotes
That Cub or Pirate fat is in the fire;
Or, as H. James would say, We’ve got their goats—
This is the end of every fan’s desire.
The burden of a pennant. O the hope,
The tenuous hope, the hope that’s half a fear,
The lengthy season and the boundless dope,
And the bromidic; “Wait until next year.”
O dread disgrace of trailing in the rear,
O Piece of Bunting, flying high and higher
That next October it shall flutter here:
This is the end of every fan’s desire.
ENVOY
Ah, Fans, let not the Quarry but the Chase
Be that to which most fondly we aspire!
For us not Stake, but Game; not Goal, but Race—
THIS is the end of every fan’s desire.
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