A vote for Tom Werner for commissioner is a vote to return to the dark ages

From the New York Times, handicapping tomorrow’s vote for the next commissioner:

[Tom] Werner has the support of Jerry Reinsdorf, the owner of the Chicago White Sox, and Arte Moreno, the Los Angeles Angels’ owner, who believe that Manfred has given too many concessions to the players union and want the next commissioner to be more confrontational.

Getting tough with the players? The last time that was the stated goal of baseball owners the strike happened. Since there has been greater cooperation between the union and the owners, revenues have skyrocketed, the players’ share of revenue has fallen from close to 50% to closer to 40% and, left to its own devices, the union has been weakened and, time and again, has given away rights without getting an equal return. Think drug testing and penalties, the caps on amateur and international signing bonuses and draft pick compensation getting tied to free agency.

Why, against that backdrop, some owners want to return to what they were doing from the 1960s through the 1990s and take on the union in a “confrontational” way is beyond me. The only thing that could unite the MLBPA in the way it was united a decade or two ago is to attack it. I guess some people want to do that. I guess some people don’t learn from history.

It’s gonna take quite a guy to make Bud Selig look like some jiu-jitsu master. But it looks like those who are backing Tom Werner are going to give it a shot.