Dodgers Team News

MLB News: Club Owners and Players at Odds as 2020 Season Hangs in the Balance

Another day, another dry, bland tweet telling us more or less that these baseball people really do not like each other. On Thursday, the players reiterated to MLB and its club owners that they will not take any further pay cuts. The union will stand on the ground that they should be paid for services rendered.

That service is entertainment for fans, whether in the seats or on TV.



But, fans will not be in the seats and that costs teams a whole lot of money in 2020.

Each of the last few weeks has been dubbed “the most important week of the year” for baseball. That expression was soon followed by the hope that someone would be the adult in the room for one of the sides.

The money quote — literally and figuratively — came in that second to last paragraph…

The league’s demand for additional concessions was resoundingly rejected.

My immediate reaction:

It turns out, there is no adult, only Zuul. And yes, that is union head Tony Clark all but calling fans to arms against MLB, whimpering a “well, he started it” attitude. Not to say that players should forfeit the rights that predecessors fought for, but the fact that the fans getting pulled into this is reaching embarrassing levels.

Related: Former Dodgers GM, “Do Not Fail This Game Over Money”

For the fire and brimstone types, this is starting to feel ominous — there may, in fact, be no baseball in 2020. And it will be over money, which makes it really hard to swallow.

A pandemic shut the game down, but these uncomfortably public discussions show that it was already well on its way. The game’s leadership showing more of its many flaws as the current collective bargaining agreement divided the two sides.

Now the hope for baseball this year rests on whether or not commissioner Rob Manfred drafts and enacts a new season schedule… and whether the players would agree to play.

Could it happen? Sure. Will it happen? Not terribly like. Manfred has the power to make such a decision but insiders feel he values the input of the players too much. He won’t rule with an iron fist, as it were. But each day that MLB argues with MLB players in the public eye, more harm is being inflicted on the great game. Harm it may not ever be able to fully overcome. 

NEXT: It’s Not All Money, COVID Still Playing a Role in the Arguments

Clint Pasillas

Clint Pasillas has been writing, blogging, and podcasting about the Los Angeles Dodgers since 2008. Under Clint's leadership as the Lead Editor, Dodgers Nation has grown into one of the most read baseball sites in the world with millions of unique visitors per month. Find him online on Twitter/X or his YouTube channel!

4 Comments

  1. This is all scripted theatre. This is what they mean when they say sports reflect real life. This is just like what’s going on in the streets right now, higher ups in charge of the world (of baseball) versus the little guy (players) and Tony Clark nor calling on support from everyone (fans now) like the call for every citizen to take a stand against police brutality

  2. The 1st sentence in that statement is a bunch of BS. If all they want is to play baseball they would play for free. Owners do not spend a lot of money buying a club only to be a wallet that the players can keep digging into. No fans would be a big loss to revenue for the owners and the players should understand that and be willing to take a pay cut. They should not be adamant that they already took a cut when that agreement was before no fans allowed in the stands. I feel that they should figure out what % of revenue is lost w/o fans and both owners and players take a pay cut proportionate to the loss of revenue.

  3. It is so tiring. I’m exhausted. I’ll wait till next year. Hope to see you guys in Glendale in February.

    1. A summer without baseball, is like the last day of the season. The only thing different is that last game and February is not that far away. I agree, Mike. Time flies by quickly though, and hopefully when February comes around the corner, our Boys in Blue will be ready to step up to the plate. We will all cheer them on, and maybe our Boys will bring us, the Faithful Fans, a beautiful trophy we all will be proud of. Or not. Are there more important issues going on in the world right now? Of course. But… for some reason… baseball… just a game… still heals the soul.

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