Lockout Looms As MLB Players and Owners Bicker
The World Series is scheduled to be played October 19th through the 27th this year. That may be the last time you watch baseball for a while. Of course you know that. It’s the off-season, right? Well, yeah but more importantly, on December 1st of this year, the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Major League Players Union and the owner expires.
You have to be thinking, “why would these players complain about the amount of money they are making to play a game?” Well, it gets a little deeper than just money...then again, it’s all about money but on both sides. Players are thinking, “owners are making record profits (not including 2020) and all of the teams win with revenue sharing. Why shouldn’t the players share in more of those profits? They are the ones performing.” Who’s right? Who’s wrong? We’ll let you decide that, if you want to.
What is true, is the fact that both sides have given each other no reason to trust one another. The COVID protocols were a perfect example. Major League Baseball making the Designated Hitter universal last year and taking it away this year. Another example is deadening the baseballs without the blessing from the MLB Players Union, same goes with the current storyline of pitchers using sticky substances. Major League Baseball put out a memo without consulting the Players Union about the enforcement of foreign substance rules for pitchers.
Whatever side you stand on with any of these issues, the fact of matter is, none of it will matter if the two sides don’t talk. Right now, MLB owners are implementing policies that may affect players health and performance without consulting the union. Bad start. It’s going to get worse before it gets better.