**This article will continue to be updated based on negotiations**
Like so many of you, I am anxious for Major League Baseball to be back. My father, Mike Ramsey, played for the St. Louis Cardinals, LA Dodgers, and Montreal Expos in the 80s, and my grandfather held Expos season tickets for over 30 years. Just like all of the baseball lifers out there, the game runs deep in my familial roots. The prospect of a 2020 season is troubling to say the least. The world has patiently waited for a pandemic to run its course, despite an expected second wave for the fall months. Now, the sport is in limbo while the players union and owners negotiate the ins and out of a partial season. This is happening all while other sports are taking positive steps forward to complete or restart their respective seasons. Coming to an agreement will not be easy. In fact, the owners, not the players are to blame for the potential of a canceled Major League Baseball season. The owners are winning the media battle by intentionally making the players look greedy in the eyes of the public..
Following an initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic on March 26thin which:
Players agreed to a deal in which they would receive prorated shares of their salaries based on what percentage of each team’s 162-game schedule is played. In exchange, players were guaranteed that if no games are played, they would receive service time for 2020 matching what they accrued in 2019. Both sides also agreed upon a 50/50 revenue for the number of games completed.” This represented hope for all of America, that despite the craziness going on in the world, baseball would be back at some point.
Fast forward two months, and it is starting to look more and more like their will not be a 2020 baseball season. Ownership came to the players with their proposal for an 82-game season and the players were disappointed with the sliding pay scale among other health rulings. Keep in mind, that this sliding pay scale is in addition to the players prorated salary. The pay scale is a power play by the owners to make the “richest” players in the league to take the blame for the state of baseball. If this falls through, no one will say a peep about the owners, who in total are worth 50+ billion dollars. That is billion with a ‘B’.
Although it does make sense to help the fringe or low salaried players, the overall pay deductions were not well received. In fact, Washington Nationals Pitcher Max Scherzer tweeted out that the players would not agree to any more salary concessions, at all. They are miles away from an agreement. Some other highlights of the first proposal include an 82-game schedule, 3-week spring training period, universal Designated hitter and the same 50/50 revenue split. Money is not the only issue. On top of a lackluster financial offer, some players feel the rules centered around safety, and health are too strict. Both sides will figure this aspect out and in this instance you cannot blame the league for taking as many precautions as they can. These players are risking time away from their family for time with their baseball family. With so many issues, we are still very far away from baseball. There is hope with the players counteroffer on the way.
- $563,501 to $1 million paid at 72.5%
- $1,000,001 to $5 million paid at 50%
- $5,000,001 to $10 million paid at 40%
- $10,000,001 to $20 million paid at 30%
- $20,000,001 and up paid at 20%
As expected the players countered with an offer for a 114-game season with full prorated salaries. They also included an opt-out clause for players who simply do not feel safe to play at all this season. Some additional assurances include deferred salary if the playoffs get canceled as well as a potential all-star game and/or home run derby to help increase revenues. The players recognize that they may be asking for too much and this will be rejected but, the good news is that both sides have been able to voice concerns and put their desires out on the table.
For those of you fuming over the players lack of desire to play, have some perspective. Imagine, your place of employment, asking you to take a 70-80 percent pay cut after already losing out on half of your salary. You would feel disrespected, unmotivated and most likely would either quit or immediately start looking for a new job. It is not fair to ask a professional to do the same regardless of how much money they are making. They are just like you and I except extremely talented at baseball. At the end of the day when you think about worker’s rights and what it is like to work for a corporation that is worth a ton more than what you earn, it is easy to see why the players want what they bargained for. Every one of us knows that feeling.