Yankees: MLB Players React and Rip Rob Manfred After Latest Interview

MLB players rightly ripped Rob Manfred after he walked back all his claims about the 2020 season.

Tell. The players. When and where.

That’s been the MLBPA’s rightful bargaining cry over the past few days, when it became increasingly clear that although Commissioner Rob Manfred could impose a schedule right now, he wouldn’t out of fear of a grievance that accused the league of negotiating in bad faith.

Clearly, he and the owners feared such a grievance so much that they limply threatened the lack of a baseball season out of nowhere, even though — say it with me once again! — they could literally install baseball tomorrow if they wanted to.

In response to this latest “Ping!” in a never-ending series of Pongs, several MLB stars came out of the woodwork last night to rip Manfred’s callous move, including some Yankees who…aren’t very active on social platforms in general, like Mike Tauchman.

It really is that simple. Last week, Manfred said there would “unequivocally” be a season. Five days later, not so much. You forget your word choice, Rob?

Noah Syndergaard of the crosstown Mets — who won’t be participating in a 2020 campaign anyway, while he rehabs from Tommy John surgery — summed up his Manfred-related depression quite simply.

It hurts.

Trevor Bauer, who usually has a well-measured take on labor politics, whether you agree with him or not, broke down what he believes to be Manfred’s current negotiating tactic in an angry thread that starts below. This was quickly RT’d by Christian Yelich.

https://twitter.com/BauerOutage/status/1272641345941721088?s=20

Some players, like Cubs infielder Jason Kipnis, just yearned to switch leadership teams with a different sport…

…While others, like Jack Flaherty, contemplated swapping sports entirely.

Nationals closer Sean Doolittle, who can always be counted on for a succint and hilarious take, summed up Manfred’s hypocrisy in the blink of a Tim Robinson GIF.

Some players, too, kept it clean and simple. Cubs All-Star catcher Willson Contreras, your thoughts?

https://twitter.com/WContreras40/status/1272656685388136448?s=20

I’ve been locked in an upside down smiley position for weeks too, Willson.

Former Yankee Phil Hughes came through with a surprisingly optimistic reading of the evening’s events on Tuesday morning too, though, seeing the league’s glancing blow as more of a wince and a failed power play.

Of course, all of this has distracted from the real task at hand: figuring out how to play during a still-spreading pandemic.

MLB has ignored that part for weeks, only bringing it up again last night when they needed a leak and a stall tactic for negotiations. Cubs star Anthony Rizzo called them out for that, too.

Gerrit Cole, one of the league’s top earners, isn’t very active on Twitter. It’s telling, though, that his most recent RT, before a video of him driving to Yankee Stadium to throw a surprise bullpen on Monday, was this union statement from over the weekend.

Manfred’s doing a pretty bad job of turning the union against its highest earners, huh?

If the campaign is cancelled, Rob Manfred should forever go down as the commissioner who promised baseball, could have installed baseball unilaterally, and broke that promise.

Hopefully, it won’t come to that for these angry players, and we can get back to “when and where” soon enough.