MLB is Playing with Fire
A lot more at stake than money if more April games come off the schedule..
Let’s look beyond Major League Baseball’s self-imposed lockout and the mess it’s devolved into.
Go past the looking-more-choreographed-by-the-day song and dance MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and the owners have produced — two shows a day! — resulting in a week of games officially coming off the slate with more being methodically placed on the chopping block the longer this continues on.
The innards of the situation are intricate, but can ultimately be summed up briefly: businessmen are doing businessmen things with a lack of regard for, hmm, let’s say fair play.
It’s a big pie and everyone’s hungry, from the main dining hall to the kids’ table.
On Friday, multiple reports noted the Players’ Association’s willingness to accept a 14-team postseason field in exchange for more pronounced concessions from the league heading in the union’s direction. Where this goes is very much to be determined.
The Players’ Association is fighting an overwhelmingly just yet extremely uphill battle. Their resolve to stay the course if they must is commendable. But up against the machine that is Major League Baseball, give-and-take in these situations is a must.
The union deferring to the league’s juggernaut vision of an expanded postseason is significant. Hopefully, the MLBPA’s hefty give will take hold with the owners and lead to progress. We shall see.
At this point, the looming question in fans’ heads — outside of how team owners can seem to care so little about the game itself, of course — is when Major League Baseball will return. And it’s a fair one.
MLB has shown little to no concern for canceling April games. Teams aren’t obligated to issue rebates to regional sports networks for canceled games until after a couple dozen games are banged. It’ll all come out in the wash, from their perspective.
With the postseason still very much a go — and an expanded one, at that! — league and team coffers will be brimming however this shakes out.
Makes you realize that this isn’t necessarily about dollars and sense. It’s been about owners keeping control on their side for the foreseeable future — no matter the optics, no matter the losses.
At times it’s appeared to be more about shortening the union’s leash moving forward, but that’s a longform story for another day.
This time of year is the epitome of hope springs eternal. Instead, disappointment and anxiety have ruled. Without the perennial accompanying buzz that we’ve all grown accustomed to over the years, something just feels… off.
Let’s see if March really does go out like a lamb. Because if it doesn’t, there’s more at stake than just a lengthier delay.
On April 15, baseball fans across the country will celebrate the 75th anniversary of Jackie Robinson becoming the first Black man to play in the modern major leagues.
Whether or not this landmark moment in the game’s history will be properly commemorated by the league (a league, mind you, who has benefitted greatly from the contributions of Black ballplayers, staff, and journalists since Robinson’s 1947 debut) is also another very big TBD.
What is known — without a shred of doubt — is that allowing a day such as this to fall by the wayside in favor of heel-digging and PR blitzes would be incredibly disappointing.
Casting such a historic, meaningful day aside is akin to a gut punch to a fan base whose foundation is constructed of mortared layers of historical perspective and statistical glory. Forget about banning the shift. That’s how you lose fans forever.
Let’s see if the big picture, common sense, or better yet, actual love and respect for this game will prevail over the bottom line for the owners. For once.
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