In the rubbish bin which is Major League Baseball 2020, “Youve Got Mail” is hardly a good title. Instead, it is the latest revenge exchange between players and owners regarding ultra-tense negotiations to reopen this season.
The top negotiators from the MLB and the MLB Players Association take turns filing complaints and accusations with each other, because the two sides remain far apart on the number of games and the amount of payments that will stop quarrels and disputes and get the team back on the field.
Bruce Meyer, a union negotiator, wrote to MLB deputy commissioner Dan Halem that the owners, in suggesting they could pay the salaries of players only with a predetermined wage only if they restricted the regular season to around 50 matches, used “cynical tactics to seize America. baseball game. “Halem, who wrote his first letter, stated,”[W]We have no reason to believe that a negotiated solution for the 82 match season is possible. “
Various industry sources confirmed the contents of the two letters, which were first reported by The Athletic.
Fundamental disagreement between the two parties involves the willingness of the players (or their absence) to work at below average wages. All additional disputes stem from that. MLB proposes a regular 82-match regular season with a sliding scale for players where the highest-paid player will receive the biggest haircut. PA retaliates with a regular 114-match season until October, with a postseason taking place in November, and a full prorated payment with deferred payments for players making $ 10 million or more if the worst case scenario of a canceled postseason occurs. When the union presented the idea on Sunday, commissioner Rob Manfred responded by saying that, with the terms of the March 26 agreement guaranteeing the salaries of the players who were previously pagered, he could withstand any season. Season of around 50 matches when paying players, their predetermined income will be financially viable, MLB believes.
“Even assuming that this is the right basis for the league to derail the game of baseball (we note that MLB often claims that it has a negative operating advantage from playing baseball, but he still uses the game of baseball every year), the league has done nothing that can convinced us of the truth of his claim, “Meyer wrote.
Apart from the dollar, running the regular season through October will not work because, Halem explained, “We are uncomfortable from the point of view of public health extending the regular season to October. In addition, your proposal ignored the reality of the weather in many parts of the country during the second half of October. If we schedule an entire game at the end of October, we will be disturbed by cancellations. “
Concerns lingered that coronavirus could return in colder weather in November, and not mentioned was the fact that MLB broadcast partners would prefer to postseason airing in October.
Meyer also stressed that the two parties still need to agree on health and safety protocols that will cover game returns.
