It’s February 15, 2022, and the latest MLB transaction is Adrian Gonzalez retiring from baseball. Gonzalez hasn’t played since 2018.
The Major League Baseball lockout has shown no signs of coming to an end since they entered hiatus on December 1, 2021. The league and its owners sat on their hands for 60 days before offering a counter-offer to the Major League Baseball Players Association. Now, they’re fighting back from pro-player sentiment.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred spoke for the first time publicly since the lockout began last week. The league and the players union were meeting two days after his press conference in which the league would present a “good-faith” proposal.
They did not.
Even the league’s top media mouthpiece admitted to it.
If their proposal to the players was in so-called “good faith” then the league could have presented the players a proposal that met simple demands like raising the minimum salary to a flat rate of $775,000. The league prefers a tiered approach where athletes with 0-1 years of major-league service will make $615,000.
Essentially we’re quarreling over $150,000. Even to the poorest owner, Arizona Diamondbacks’ Ken Kendrick, it represents 0.00025% of his net worth. Which side is asking for too much again?
This is just one issue. For further perspective on how little minimum salary should matter to owners, just look at the Mets. Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil combined to make $1,319,026 last season per Spotrac.com figures. Brad Hand, who they acquired off waivers in September, made $1,750,012 in his month on the Mets.
But again, the players are the ones who are greedy.
And that’s basically what it comes down to today. The MLB owners want to keep the current power structure in place that allows for them to value their subservients this way. Yet the owners are the ones waiting for the players to make “greater movement” as Heyman pointed out.
On Monday, former MLB GM and current writer at The Athletic Jim Bowden released his article that “It’s time for MLB players to make the owners an overwhelming offer.”
If you’re wondering why Bowden now works for a sports journalism startup and not a front office it’s because in 2009 as Washington Nationals general manager he was in an FBI investigation into the skimming of signing bonus money from Latin American baseball players. Just so you know, in his article he states he’s “pro-player first.”
Bowden does a solid job showing how the owners have manipulated some into taking their side.
“Instead of complaining about what they call an underwhelming proposal from the other side, the players should show the owners what an overwhelming proposal looks like,” Bowden wrote.
That’s what they’ve presented to the league, Jim. It’s ludicrous to suggest the owners are the ones moving this process along when the sides that mutually agreed to having a non-arbitration-eligible players’ bonus pool are apart by $85 million. (MLBA wants $100 million, MLB wants $15 million)
Bowden at least shows how the money would work.
“Let’s break it down further: Jonathan India of the Reds, who won NL Rookie of the Year last year, would go from making $570,500 to approximately $1.35 million, and Kyle Tucker of the Astros would go from $624,000 to $1.2 million. And yet, the Players Association is asking for a pool that is 6 1/2 times greater than what the owners have proposed. That’s ridiculous.”
Remember, it’s not your money.
Look, I’m pro-union. In my academic career, I’ve argued multiple times for college athletes to be unionized and paid. In my professional career, I was a member and paid union dues to be in The Buffalo Newspaper Guild. I’ve seen firsthand how an employer attempts and usually succeeds in gutting a workforce, despite a union’s best effort.
The players have a chance to create not only a better present but secure a better future. Bowden’s article is irresponsible and written to defend the league that is currently in federal court saying minor league players should not be paid during spring training.
It’s okay. Side with the billionaires. They’re the ones who are really hurting here. The same ones who saw their net worths grow during the pandemic need the help.
Baseball isn’t going to be ruined because the players want fair compensation. Baseball is going to be ruined because of the greed at the top.