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Jeff PassanESPN
After the Major League Baseball Players’ Association rejected an MLB proposal to delay the start of the season, the league said it would begin spring training and the regular season as scheduled.
A day of sharp discussions between the league and the union, the sources said, ended as almost everyone involved had expected: with no agreement to delay the season and with the spring training report of 17 February and April 1 Opening day still intact.
The MLB on Friday proposed a schedule of 154 games that would pay players for 162 games and pause their camp arrivals until March 22 and the first games until April 28. The offer included expanding the playoffs from 10 to 14 teams and implementing the designated hitter in the National League. The union immediately hesitated, citing the text in the proposal it believed would give Commissioner Rob Manfred broader powers to cancel games in the event of a possible COVID-19 outbreak.
For months, the MLB, in discussions with the MLBPA, had suggested the possibility of postponing the season. Only on Friday did he agree to do so with full payment, which the union said from the beginning was a must for any potential business. The players were encouraged by the knowledge that the collective bargaining agreement determines a season of 162 games and that they need to be encouraged to return in the season.
The persistent resentment over the failed negotiations for the start of the 2020 season colored the discussions – and can continue to do so as long as the parties negotiate a CBA that expires on December 1. While the league’s logic was salient and shared by many people across the sport – that a delay would allow COVID-19 cases to recede in Arizona’s hot spot, where half the teams train and also across the country before the Day of Openness – players questioned how much of a health and safety factor they were against the teams’ desire to play more games in a more coronavirus-friendly environment, allowing more fans in the stands and more money to be made.
The result was representative of the relationship between the MLB and the MLBPA – a relationship that teems with mistrust and frustrates both parties, but in this case it is unlikely to cause any game to be lost.
What may not happen are the expanded playoffs or the designated universal hitter. Also on the list of potential victims: seven-entry doubleheaders, a runner starting at second base on extra entries and potentially using neutral playoff game sites.
All of these issues can be revised in the coming weeks, as baseball looks at the wreckage of a proposal that, it was quite clear on Monday, was doomed to fail from the start.
In Zoom’s calls, the players’ leaders were strident in their belief that they should start the season as quickly as possible, according to sources, citing not only the desire to play now, but to prevent pitchers from lowering their arms before the that many hope to be a tribute year after the 2020 season shortens. Although several players have told ESPN that they believe a delay would be good for the sport – they fear that April is the most likely month for potential outbreaks and cancellations because the COVID-19 vaccine will not be as widely distributed as it would be in the following months – the leadership on the players’ side found the proposal unconvincing and was clear in their desire to reject it.
The question was whether the union would strike back. In discussions between the MLB and the MLBPA on Monday, the league offered to eliminate the language about Manfred’s powers that the union opposed, according to sources. MLB also suggested that it was open to help offset the cost of broken rentals for spring training accommodation, an issue that bothered players. Other issues, the league hinted, were also open for negotiation.
The union was not moved. He believed that the CBA provided everything he wanted and did not make a counter offer.
“We did not make that decision lightly,” said the MLBPA in a statement. “Players know firsthand the efforts that were required to complete the shortened 2020 season, and we recognize that significant challenges lie ahead. We hope to promptly finalize improved health and safety protocols that will help players and clubs meet these challenges.” ‘
Arizona continues to have the highest COVID-19 case rates in the United States, although the seven-day average dropped from a peak of 10,391 on January 9 to 4,890 on Monday. The NFL, NBA, NHL and NCAA continued to play during the worst days of the pandemic, and the MLB last season withstood the outbreaks at the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals to end a 60-game season and expand the postseason. Still, the concern about coronavirus variants causing problems during the season is palpable, and health officials have suggested that the MLB endeavor to delay it, if possible.
“Our 2020 season taught us that when the country faces a crisis, the national game is as important as ever, and there is nothing better than playing ball,” the league said in a statement. “We managed to complete a 2020 season through Herculean efforts and sacrifices made by our players, the Club team and the MLB team to protect each other. We will do this again, together, as we work to play another safe and fun season in 2021. “
It is not yet known how the consequences of the negotiations influence secondary issues. Batters Nelson Cruz and Marcell Ozuna remain free agents, and the lack of universal DH would almost certainly push Cruz back to an American League team and disrupt the Ozuna market, which is seen as a defensive liability. After Manfred implemented the 60-game schedule in 2020, the sides agreed on the eve of the season to expand the playoffs – although the $ 50 million in the playoffs was the impetus for players to agree. With the total payment expected in 2021, the sources said, they are more likely to keep the playoffs expanded as a bargaining chip for CBA negotiations that are bound to be contentious.