Reality fouls off MLB's proposal for return to field
Commissioner Rob Manfred watches as the American League players warm-up for the All-Star Game in Cleveland. Credit: AP/John Minchillo
Upon hearing the details of MLB’s latest, best return-to-play proposal, which will be turned over to the Players Association on Tuesday, my reaction was the same as it’s been for all the ones that preceded it:
Sounds great.
A July start for an 82-game regionalized schedule, the use of home ballparks (where permitted), an expanded 14-team playoff structure. More Yankees-Mets. Even a universal DH!
What’s not to like? It’s baseball, right?
Problem is, every idea looks great on paper. The Arizona bio-dome, the Cactus-Grapefruit cocktail, even the three mega-divisions concept that divvied up the teams along geographical lines.
I fantasized about each of them, imagined how they could work, trying to convince myself that if the COVID-19 outbreak eased up, yes, this might actually happen. And then reality set in. Just as it’s doing again with this latest proposal.
The difference this time is that MLB’s blueprint is finally getting in front of the Players Association, which has to approve any plan before proceeding. But the COVID-related health concerns still loom large, and the finer print contained in this owner-sanctioned manifesto, the part about a 50-50 revenue-sharing agreement for player salaries, is the equivalent of a poison pill.
In the union’s view, that invalidates the whole thing. Just the suggestion of revenue-sharing is radioactive to the players. Always has been. The mere mention of it is a non-starter, to the point that the union can only dismiss this proposal as a PR ploy.
Given these extraordinary circumstances, I prefer to think the two sides can get over this financial hurdle. It’s understandable that the union believes it signed off on prorated salaries on March 26. Two weeks from now, the players’ $170 million advance will run out and the money will dry up with no games. Still, they say they won’t budge on any more concessions.
From the owners’ perspective, their gate-related revenue — which a source said amounts to 51% of the local take/40% overall for MLB — has vanished and very likely won’t be coming back this year. Maybe you want to question the impact of those numbers on a $10.7 billion industry, but to the owners, those are real, devastating losses. Frankly, the way they see it, paying players prorated salaries for roughly half a season isn’t worth it.
There’s not a lot of bend here. But as far apart as they are, at least the compensation issue is something within baseball’s control. It’s not impossible to negotiate a solution. The coronavirus, however, has shown a tendency to be far less cooperative.
Plenty of people talk about creating safe work environments for the return of sports, but few outside of South Korea and Taiwan have been able to formulate a successful strategy.
Spain’s soccer league had five players test positive within days of its return. The UFC had one of its fighters (and two cornermen) come down with COVID-19 right before last weekend’s Jacksonville event.
It’s illogical to think that MLB can seal out the virus altogether, especially as we’re bracing for a resurgence in states that already have reopened this month. And what happens if a player does contract the virus? Will MLB choose to shut down for three weeks or just isolate the player(s) and plow onward with the season?
The union is going to need some serious persuading that the players can be protected and the risk minimized to a reasonable degree. After all, it won’t be the owners potentially exposing themselves by traveling city-to-city and ballpark-to-ballpark.
So how can that be done? MLB will have to convince the union that there is access to adequate testing that doesn’t compromise the public, just as the NBA specified in its gradual return to training camps last week. Also, the needs of players with suppressed immune systems have to be addressed, along with safeguards for game-operations staff.
All this makes for an exhaustive list with potential life-or-death consequences, which is why these negotiations are unlike any other. They’re not discussing pitch clocks and video review. And the rules keep changing.
Even if MLB and the union reach some common ground, government officials could pull it out from under them by refusing to let them play in their states.
On Monday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom mentioned that he spoke to commissioner Rob Manfred but didn’t make any promises. “We’ll see where we will be in July,” he said.
Listening to MLB’s latest pitch, we could all be watching baseball then. Reality just keeps telling us something different.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
