Tag: MLB lockout

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: MLB: Owners and Players No Deal – – Season on Life Support

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The ball and chain of the MLB lockout continued when owners and players were far apart on the major issues at the lockout negotiations in Jupiter Florida for the ninth straight day of in person meetings (file photo from the Athletic)

MLB: Owners and Players No Deal – – Season on Life Support

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

Jupiter, Florida… Owners and players’ union representatives negotiated for 16 hours, beginning Monday, Feb. 28 at 10AM until around 4 AM Tuesday the 1st of March. Both sides were dead locked this morning.

The main sticking point is the CBT (Competitive Balance Tax). Negotiations were extended after the first deadline expired. The owners made the last proposal and it was rejected unanimously by the players union. And Adios! everybody left and went home empty handed.

It has been 91 days since MLB locked out the players. The lockout started on December 2, 2021. It was thought some progress was made but not enough to close a deal that would run the business of baseball until 2027.

It has been a heck of a roller-coaster of a ride during these past eight continuous days of negotiations. Meetings have been held at the St. Louis Cardinals Spring Training park, Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium in sunny Jupiter, Florida.

Major League Players’ Association leaders agreed unanimously not to accept MLB’s final proposal and there will be no deal on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement before today’s 5PM ET deadline. MLB threatened to cancel its March 31 Opening Day without a new deal. Owners also said, as late as Sunday, they were willing to cancel the entire April calendar of games.

A sad situation for the game of baseball, and for all in the business of baseball that has a financial interest. This includes the ancillary people, self-employed, media, reporters, radio and TV stations, announcers, stadium workers, vendors, food truck drivers, Uber/Lyft drivers, local restaurants, the hospitality people and many more.

In other words all the people that depend on the baseball industry to put food on their table, pay their mortgage, pay the car note, the rent and raise their kids, are “up a creek without a paddle”. All because people that rule the business, owners and players, billionaires and millionaires, could not get their own greedy ways. In my book, and overall, I blame booth sides – owners and players. A $5 gallon of gas doesn’t affect them much.

One thing I do agree with this Commissioner, (which I agree few times), this is “a disastrous outcome” to the game. A sport that once was called “The National Pastime”, today has become “The National Joke” .

Amaury Pi Gonzalez will update you on the MLB lockout at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: MLB and Union can’t make a connection on arbitration, revenue sharing and MLB minimum

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Negotiations over the weekend proved fruitless as MLB and the MLBPA could not agree on some of the big ticket items (photo by News Center 1)

On That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast:

#1 Amaury MLB and the Players Association met over the weekend and again neither side made an movements on agreeing about a the Major League minimum salary, arbitration and revenue sharing.

#2 Amaury, in a 130 page proposal that was presented to the MLB Players which the union looked over and did not come to an agreement on. Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said he would present a “good faith” proposal but it looks as if it fell on deaf ears.

#3 Amaury, the start of the 2022 spring training schedule looks like it will delayed and further regular season which starts on March 31st looks like it won’t start on time at this rate.

#4 The Union and MLB did agree on the Universal DH, creating a draft lottery system. The Union is asking for MLB to increase the MLB minimum salary from $615,000, $650,000, and $700.000 over three years to $750,000.

#5 Amaury, talk about those that this lockout and who it really effects, the parking lot attendants, the souvenir store employees, concession employees, hawkers, ushers, security, food service, front office middle management, grounds crews, these employees just might have to go out and look for an outside job until the lockout is settled.

Join Amaury Pi Gonzalez the Spanish radio voice of Oakland A’s baseball on 1010 KIQI Le Grande San Francisco and does News and Commentary podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Headline Sports podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: Cal to close up regular season vs. USC in make up game; A’s deal stars Marte and Canha to Mets; plus much more

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Cal Bears quarterback Chase Garbers (7) looks for a receiver against the Colorado Buffaloes defense on Sat Oct 23, 2021. Garbers and the Bears host the USC Trojans Sat Dec 4, 2021 at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley in a make up game. ( file photo by AP News)

On Headline Sports podcast with Jerry F:

#1 Jerry, the Cal Bears (4-7) play their final game of the regular season against the USC Trojans (4-7) this will be part of a make up game as it was postponed due to the Bears having half the team on Covid 19 protocols.

#2 The Bears just simply didn’t have a chance against UCLA Bruins (8-4) last Saturday at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena 42-14. The Bruins after the first quarter just simply took over scoring in double digits in each quarter.

#3 The San Francisco 49ers are coming off a huge win over the Minnesota Vikings and their post season hopes are not dashed they’ve getting great offense from wide receiver Brandon Ayiuk and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. Talk about the job Ayiuk and Garoppolo has done and how you see them matching up against the Seattle Seahawks this Sunday.

#4 How badly will the San Francisco Giants miss having pitcher Kevin Gausman who went 14-6 ERA 2.81 on their starting rotation as he joins the Toronto Blue Jays for the 2022 season?

#5 Jerry, the New York Mets scored huge this week obtaining former Oakland A’s players Starling Marte and Mark Canha on Wednesday. Talk about how the A’s will miss Marte and Canha and how they’ll be a plus in the Mets line up.

Jerry Feitelberg filled in for Michael Duca for Headline Sports heard each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: Major League Baseball officially in lockout; First work stoppage since 1994

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Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred (left) and Major League Players Association Executive Tony Clark (right) confer during the 2021 World Series at Minute Maid Field in Houston. The two sides met on Wed Dec 1, 2021 for just seven minutes and adjourned as the lock out became official. (file photo from Newsday)

Major League Baseball Officially in Lockout

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

At 12:00 AM (midnight) Thursday, December 2, 2021, owners lockout players after both sides failed to come to a contract of a new CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement). For the first time since 1994-1995 there is a Lockout in the game.

The best news is that this is happening early, with two-and-a half months before all 30 teams report to their respective training camps in Arizona and Florida. The 2022 season is scheduled to begin on March 31.

Without a new CBA, which is the negotiated accord that governs 99.9 % of the working relationships between MLB and MLBPA (players association), there is no baseball, there are no games, and transactions between teams are now frozen. During a lockout, free agency and trades of major league players are not allowed.

To make this clear: A strike is when the labor side (players and their union) puts a halt to operations, while a lockout is when management (owners) initiates the stoppage. In other words; a strike is when the players refuse to work while a lockout is when the owners refuse to permit the players to play. In this case, it is a lockout.

During the past three weeks, teams have spent close to $2 billion dollars in player signings. Max Scherzer, Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Robbie Gray, Byron Buxton, Kevin Gausman, and Javy Baez are among some of the players that have gotten new contracts with new teams between $100 million to $325.

By looking at these signings we would think the business of baseball is doing great. Owners do not pay these contracts, because they are “nice guys”, as blunt as it sounds, owners do not go into the baseball business to be nice, but to make money.

Because many of them want to win and want to hire the best talent available they make these investments. The MLB revenues have increased from less than $5 billion in 2005 to more than $10 billion, during the last pre-pandemic season.

I cannot believe this lockout could go into the 2022 season, but if that happens nobody should be shocked. There is too much at stake here for the game. Aside from this two protagonists (owners and players), there are many others that work in the game of baseball around the 30 major league cities in the country.

They all want stability in their lives, anxiety is considered a disorder and it is not pretty. Teams also like to plan for sponsors, ticket sales, promotions, many peoples livelihood depends on the business of baseball and the majority are not players or owners.

There are many things that both sides are and will have to negotiate for the next CBA contract (usually a contract of this sort last for 5 years). Below are just a few of those:

-Pitch clock (yes, to ‘speed-up’ the game) -Creation of a “salary floor” -Salary arbitration for players after two years, not the three currently. A quicker path to free agency. -Universal Designated Hitter -Revenue sharing (in 2021 a modified, Loan-based revenue sharing was adopted) And many other issues that will not take a week or two to come to an agreement, or maybe it will? We can only go from the previous record of these type of negotiations and it is not a pretty sight.

“Baseball is like a poker game. Nobody wants to quit when he’s losing; nobody wants you to quit when you’re ahead.” -Jackie Robinson.