The MLBPA rejected the owners’ final proposal for a 2020 season, which has led to this.
Well, New York Yankees fans, as everyone expected, the players and owners could not come to an agreement on terms for the 2020 MLB season. The back-and-forth has continued for months now, so why would the two sides have amicably settled things in the 25th hour?
The MLBPA rejected the owners’ final proposal by a vote of 33-5 on Monday, and with the fate of the 2020 season resting in the hands of commissioner Rob Manfred, he will reportedly implement a 60-game campaign to end the stalemate.
Baseball seems to be happening. Yay. We’re exhausted.
Commissioner Rob Manfred is scheduled to implement a 60-game season that will start July 29, although no official announcement yet
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) June 22, 2020
But with all the uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus (MLB teams are now coming back to their home cities to train instead of remaining in Florida and Arizona), does any of this really matter?
Major League Baseball has asked the MLB Players Association if players can report to camp by July 1 and will sign off on health-and-safety protocols. The union has been asked to respond by 5 p.m. Tuesday.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 23, 2020
In other words: MLB is planning on a season.
The problem with the players’ latest 70-game proposal was that everyone was running out of time to squeeze as many possible games in all the while trying to avoid a potential second wave of COVID-19, which would inevitably halt play as we get further into the fall.
The Major League Baseball Players Association today released the following statement: pic.twitter.com/1OnFBsoEjd
— MLBPA Communications (@MLBPA_News) June 22, 2020
Even though baseball take place in 2020 (assuming the players don’t sit out the season), what’s transpired since March is a terrible — and perhaps unforgivable — look for Major League Baseball.
The entire world is suffering from a global pandemic, and billionaire owners were haggling over a few million dollars instead of expediting the 2020 season, coming up with a coherent plan, implementing the proper safety measures, and being transparent with the very men who make them all of their money.
They presented the same exact offer in four different ways, insulted the players’ collective intelligence, and turned a cold shoulder to the fans (who now know they’re a huge part of this enterprise’s profits). The disrespect is indescribable.
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Nobody has ever been this disappointed delivering what we can ostensibly categorize as “good news.” Play ball, starting ~July 29.