Baseball’s union chief said the owners’ proposal of a salary cap this summer was a “nuclear bomb” and players have no interest in the type of economic system Commissioner Rob Manfred maintains is needed for the sport to thrive.
asserted
sport → say → system
Shortly before the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays opened the first World Series in 35 years between small-payroll teams in the bottom half of big league spending, players’ association head Bruce Meyer and Manfred held separate media sessions Friday near the first base dugout at American Family Field.
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Meyer → open → Field
Baseball’s labour contract expires Dec. 1, and management is expected to immediately lock out the players.
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management → expire → players
That work stoppage could threaten the start of spring training workouts on Feb. 9 and opening day on March 24.
uncertain
stoppage → threaten → March
“It is kind of sad that the league and the owners have once again been focusing not on the greatness of the game, not on the greatness of the players, not on the greatness of the playoffs, but they’ve been focusing on basically telling the consumers of their product that their product is broken,” Meyer said.
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Meyer → focus → product
Milwaukee ranked 19th in payroll as of Aug. 31 and Tampa Bay 25th.
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Bay → rank → Aug.
The Brewers, in the Series for the first time since 1982, are seeking their first title, as are the Rays.
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Rays → seek → title
“It’s been 40 years since we’re here.
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we → ’re → ?
Once every 40 years is not enough,” Manfred said.
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Manfred → say → ?
“It’s not that no small market can win, it’s just that it’s pretty rare.”
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it → ’ → ?
Three low-payroll teams reached the League Championship Series this year: Tampa Bay eliminated Cleveland, which has the smallest payroll, in the ALCS.
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which → reach → ALCS
Milwaukee eliminated the deep-pocketed, two-time defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
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Milwaukee → eliminate → Dodgers
Meyer said the success of these teams shows the current economic system works.
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system → say → teams
“There’s no reason whatsoever that the Pirates can’t do what the Brewers have done or what the Rays have done.
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Rays → ’ → what
None whatsoever, right?” he said.
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he → say → None
Milwaukee is ranked 30th among MLB teams in market size and Tampa Bay 15th.
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Bay → rank → size
While the union points to this as evidence the current system is working, Manfred claimed the matchups showed why change is needed.
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change → work → evidence
“No one ever said that differences in economics are perfectly outcome-determined,” he said.
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he → say → economics
“If you look at the data, our larger markets have a very statistically significant advantage in terms of making the playoffs and going deeper into the playoffs.”
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markets → look → playoffs
MLB’s proposal would cap spending in 2027 at US$245.3 million using figures for luxury tax payrolls, and limit a player to 15 per cent of a team’s payroll.
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proposal → cap → payroll
Free agents would be capped at $265 million over six seasons — far under Juan Soto’s record $765 million, 15-year deal with the New York Mets.
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agents → cap → Mets
Because all of management’s proposals are tied to a cap, Meyer claimed “the rest of it is a charade.”
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rest → tie → it
Those proposals have included granting some players free agency a year sooner, shortening seasons to 154 games and adding post-season games.
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proposals → include → games
“This would be a tough negotiation even without their demand for the nuclear bomb of the salary cap,” Meyer said.
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Meyer → say → cap
“This notion that the owners need a cap and that a cap would somehow guarantee this utopia of competitive balance and fan engagement, it’s just not true.
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it → need → balance
It makes no sense at all,” he added.
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he → make → sense
“We should be appreciating and promoting the things that we have now instead of trying to tear it down.”
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we → appreciate → it
MLB proposed a salary cap in 1994, and it led to a 7 1/2-month strike that caused the World Series to be cancelled for the first time in 90 years.
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Series → propose → years
“Number one, we have an unprecedented level of unanimity among ownership that this is something that we need to do, that we need to get ourselves in a position to operate like all the other major professional sports in North America,” Manfred said.
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Manfred → have → America
“Secondly, and even more importantly to me, our fan polling, and we do it regularly, has moved hard in the direction of the fact that we have a problem and that our fans see a salary cap as the answer to that problem.”
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fans → move → problem
Meyer dismissed the argument that a cap would benefit competitive balance.
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cap → dismiss → balance
“All of this is really about their desire to make more money in the form of profits and increased franchise values, which they don’t have to share with players,” he said.
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he → make → players
“It’s not about competitive balance.
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It → ’ → balance
It’s not about teams not having hope.
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teams → ’ → hope
It’s about, again, their desire, which they’ve had for decades, to have a system that artificially suppresses player salaries and player freedom of movement, removes player guarantees and limits flexibility in all different areas, guts the amateur entry system.
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that → ’ → system
Meyer said it would be complicated to extend the expiring five-year contract for another season.
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it → say → season
“I suppose anything’s possible.
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anything → suppose → ?
There’s been no discussion about that,” he said.
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he → say → that
“They don’t seem to like the current system, so I’m not sure why they would agree to continue that.
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they → seem → that
Even, theoretically, if the parties agree, let’s continue some version of the status quo, it’s easier said than done.
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it → agree → quo
…and 11 more, not listed.
The Aporia
