MLB: Who’s To Blame For This (Insert Expletive) Lockout?
76 days into the MLB lockout and once again neither side likes what the other has to say. Who is ultimately responsible for this mess?
The Following is an Informercial on Who To Blame for the Lockout
Do you feel mad or anxious about the upcoming baseball season? Have you recently taken out your emotions on a significant other because the MLB lockout continues to drag on? Are you old enough to remember the 1994 work stoppage that ended the season prematurely and without a World Series?
You’re not alone. Tens of millions of fans across five continents (maybe six, but definitely not seven, well maybe seven) feel the same way. While we don’t have all the answers, we know who to blame for this lockout. Or do we?
The Owners
The owners started the lockout on December 2nd, 2021, and said that they had to do it to bring the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) to the table. Had. To. Do. It. Then they went 43 days without meeting with the players. Had to do it, and the 43 days between lockout and initial meeting after the lockout is highly questionable.
What prevented the owners from bringing the union to the table sooner? Arrogance, most likely. The same arrogance that Rob Manfred continues to ooze with each passing moment as yet another baseball season hangs in the balance.
MLB owners can end the lockout at any time. They started it, did nothing with it until the 9th hour, and now they are scrambling to close the gaps with the union to ensure the season starts at the 11th hour. Meeting each week, sometimes twice a week, to get closer, but at the same time playing the woe-is-me card. The owners aren’t victims, but they definitely think you’re an idiot and gullible. Are you gullible? Yes, you definitely are. Trust me.
Shaky foundation
Manfred, in a press conference earlier this month, said that he was confident that they wouldn’t lose any spring training games (a ploy to leverage fans against the players in the negotiations). The problem with this announcement is flawed. On the surface, this is a tit-for-tat game Manfred is playing because fans root for players and teams, not owners.
Putting fans against players is literally taking money out of the pockets of those that have appointed him the Commissioner of the league. Unless, of course, he truly believed what he was saying, in which case, he’s the one being naïve. Or, and hear me out, he doesn’t care.
Are the owners really to blame, though? Seriously, they want to protect their money. It’s their money, and the league has definitely, maybe, taken a hit financially due to the pandemic possibly. Who knows, the owners haven’t publicly released their 2021 financial numbers. Why haven’t they done that? Because no CBA requires them to do so.
NOTE: This is a screengrab of a personal worksheet. The ESPN data in red is hypothetical. But everything else? This is MLB national TV contract info. Far left is deal before current one. Current is in yellow. The far-right is the 2022-28 info pic.twitter.com/ZMrcpuf7UA
— Maury Brown (@BizballMaury) June 14, 2020