Rob Manfred reportedly ‘not confident’ there will be a 2020 MLB season
Rob Manfred has proven that his interests do not align with the best interests of the sport, and thus he will continue to fight for the owners and their profitability. Meanwhile baseball is losing time, public trust, and their target audience as football and basketball have concrete plans for the resumption of play. Baseball and its “leader” have become an embarrassment and the longer these nonsensical negotiations continue, the sport and its fan pay the price (along with the players, who want to play a meaningful season while being paid fairly). What a joke.
2020 baseball season is in precarious state after latest negotiating blunder from MLB
As Demetrius writes, baseball may not happen in 2020. The sport is in a precarious position given the lack of progress in negotiations between players and owners. The blame for this impasse becomes more clear by the day.
Even though I’m firmly behind the players in this thing — since average player salaries have actually declined in recent years while the owners have been reaping all of the benefits of a boom in baseball business — there was a time during this ordeal where I could at least understand the average fan being annoyed with both parties for not being able to come to an agreement. Fans are seeing other sports either re-opening or getting ready to do so while it appeared that baseball was dragging their feet, so I can definitely see the casual fan wanting to point the finger at the players and the owners for not getting the games going again. As of right now, there’s no way that anybody with common sense can be blaming the players for a lost season if it does indeed come to it.
Braves reportedly add 3 undrafted free agents
With only five rounds in the 2020 MLB Draft, many players who may have otherwise gotten drafted are now settling for UDFA contracts. Yet another move designed to save money for the owners.
MLB advises teams against using Continuing Education Program as bargaining chip
What? MLB is advising against teams using a program designed to help young players because they could overpay undrafted free agents exorbitant amounts by funneling funds through the program. Naturally this fear was debunked immediately by people who understand the system and how it works. Ron Manfred is apparently not among this group.
Each team’s best season by a player over 40
Remember Knucksie? He threw 275 innings at 41 years old, then pitched another seven seasons afterward.