Major League Baseball made official what was expected by rejecting the 114-game proposal by the MLB Player’s Association.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports the league has started talks with owners about playing a shorter season without fans. They’re also prepared to discuss additional ideas with the union on the subject.
And one more thing … MLB told the union it would not send a counter, again leaving the parties deadlocked in their quest to begin the 2020 season.
The game of chicken between both sides continues.
Time isn’t on baseball’s side here. Any thoughts of games played on the Fourth of July are fading with every passing day without a deal.
While the NBA took another step towards resuming their season, MLB continues to play with fire.
The issue is money, it’s always been about money.
The union doesn’t want to accept another paycut, they already agreed to prorated salaries in March. The league, by not making another proposal, appears to have drawn a hard line in the sand.
Rosenthal also reports on the number of games proposed and how it also impacts the money both sides are arguing.
No deadline has been established yet for completion of a deal, but the math is obvious for a sport which wants to play ball in July. There still needs to be satisfactory time scheduled for a second spring training.
As I wrote in my column, baseball talks a good game when it comes to changing the perception of billionaire owners bickering with millionaire players.
50 games, 82 games, 114 games. If Major League Baseball, the owners, and the MLBPA keeps this up they’ll be left with a summer to think about the only number that’ll matter.
Zero.
