Tag: Tony Clark

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: MLB and Players Union to meet Thursday January 13

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MLB union chief Tony Clark, right, and lead union negotiator Bruce Meyer at a press conference last Thu Jan 6, 2022 in Arlington. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, Clark and Meyer hope to solve the lockout as MLB and the Players Union meet Thu Jan 13, 2022 (AP News photo)

MLB and Players Union to meet Thursday January 13

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

Commissioner Rob Manfred on behalf of MLB announced the current lock-out on December 2, 2021.

Here some of the most interesting issues they are hope to address and eventually come to agreement.

1-Minimum salary: A rookie at the end of 2021 salary was $570,000. The players union is looking for a raise that could go for a minimum of between $700,000 to $750,000 and there could be a compromise here. Today baseball rookies have the lowest salary among the four top pro-sports league. Here are the others: NBA: $925,000, NHL: $775,000, NFL $660,000. While MLS is $81,000. (All players have to pay taxes and a fee to their respective agents)

2-Free Agent: Today a rookie becomes a free agent when he reaches his sixth year of service. The MLBPA thinks it should be five years, not six. Unlike the minimum salary this one could be tougher to come to an agreement as the owners do not see it the same way as the players. You cannot ‘split the baby’ here, is either one or the other. The owners always want to keep a player under control for as long as they can.

3-Expanding the Playoffs: This one is about the owners wanting to have 14 teams in the playoffs, while the players want 12. Of course with 14 teams there will be more revenues. But some say it diminishes competition, the season is already a long 162 game campaign. But, do you want a team with 75 wins to be in the Playoffs? However, there is Money here and never bet against money. Television loves this. I think there is a good chance this makes it to the owner’s delight of 14 playoff teams.

4-NBA Style Draft Lottery: If above is approved and the postseason expands to 14 teams then the remaining 16 teams in MLB would enter a draft lottery like in basketball.

5-Universal Designated Hitter: There is plenty to chew here. I know many fans and regular media people that are split on this and I have heard all sides. One: Why should David “Big Papi” Ortíz be a Hall of Famer, he was a one-dimensional player, a hitter. The other side: Yes, true, but he played for 20 years and hit 541 home runs and was a leader. For those that forgot already, as a rookie in 1997 Ortíz played 15 games at first base for his first team, the Minnesota Twins. Like it or Not, the DH is going to the National League, just like the Umpires used to wear different garb in the AL and the NL and for decades now they all wear the same.

Other topics: Revenue Sharing, Salary Arbitration, Remove Qualifying Offer and like always some tax matters than are way too boring even for some very bored accountants.

Finally: Like any negotiations of this magnitude, no one side is going to get everything they want. My father used to say “a half loaf of bread is better than no bread at all”. Let’s hope that they can come to something of an agreement that would satisfy both owners and players. For the good of the game.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez does News and Commentary podcasts each Tuesdays 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.