The Major League Baseball Players Association has sent a counteroffer to Major League Baseball for a season of around 70 games. This comes on the heels of reports yesterday that Rob Manfred offered the players a 60 game season. The big move though is that Manfred, it seems, has finally agreed that any deal would involve prorated pay. Which turns this all into a haggling session over games as opposed to a fundamental difference in approach.
Here’s Tony Clark’s statement on the offer:
Major League Baseball Players Association Executive Director Tony Clark today released the following statement: pic.twitter.com/7chF9EafMO
— MLBPA Communications (@MLBPA_News) June 18, 2020
And here’s how it’s, reportedly, being received by the owners:
Owners are not responding positively to players counterproposal. Owners believed they’d had a meeting of the minds and the number was 60 games.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) June 18, 2020
So there’s that.
My view: Being OK with 60 games but being “livid” about 70 games says absolutely nothing about the relative quality of the proposals but a whole hell of a lot about your contempt for the idea of compromise or respectful engagement with the other side.
