Op-Ed – MLB and MLBPA need to grow up and work together
Just win (the negotiation)
Two other proposals that would benefit both sides also went out the window, a universal designated hitter and expanded playoffs. Management can’t make fundamental changes to the game without approval from the union.
Declining these two measures is close to throwing a temper tantrum. Full-time DH’s get paid well. Also, more playoffs bring in more revenue and more exposure. If the owners were to get more TV money with expanded playoffs, they’d likely be more agreeable to other union concerns.
As previously mentioned, the animosity from each side hinders getting a deal done. When it becomes more about beating the guy across the table than negotiating a deal in good faith, nothing gets done.
In such an uncertain economic climate, both sides need to get a new CBA done that includes 2021. Further, they should do it with an entirely new set of negotiators. People who recognize that they have to give something to get something. If Manfred and Clark have their egos bruised, too bad. No law says that any labor negotiation has to be contentious.
I’m not on the owner’s side or the player’s side. I’m on baseball’s side. Both parties better wake up and understand that the game is in trouble. The more they bicker among themselves, the more it alienated the fans. Why get invested in a team or its players when it looks like a follow-up season is unlikely.
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