AP file photos / MLBPA executive director Tony Clark, left, and MLB commissioner Rob Manfred.NEW YORK - Major League Baseball appears headed to its shortest season since the 1870s.
Continuing a contentious, back-and-forth, bitter dispute over pay, players told the commissioner's office Saturday night that additional talks to start the season during the coronavirus pandemic are pointless and said owners should order a return to work.
The union's action might lead to a season of about 50 games rather than the 82 initially proposed by MLB. The Major League Baseball Players Association could respond by filing a grievance that would be heard by arbitrator Mark Irvings, arguing players are owed hundreds of millions of dollars in damages due to a shorter season.
Overall, this all could spark lengthy litigation over money and a renewal of the sport's labor wars. It could even prompt some star players to sit out.
"It unfortunately appears that further dialogue with the league would be futile," union head Tony Clark said in a prepared statement. "It's time to get back to work. Tell us when and where."
MLB responded by accusing the union of not negotiating in good faith and cited the March agreement that called for prorated salaries but did not obligate teams to play in empty ballparks. Clubs could file a grievance claiming the union did not meet its "good faith" obligation.
"The MLBPA's position that players are entitled to virtually all the revenue from a 2020 season played without fans is not fair to the thousands of other baseball employees that clubs and our office are supporting financially during this very difficult 2020 season," a commissioner's office release read. "We will evaluate the union's refusal to adhere to the terms of the March agreement, and after consulting with ownership, determine the best course to bring baseball back to our fans."
AP photo by Charlie Riedel / From left, MLB commissioner Robert Manfred, MLBPA executive director Tony Clark, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum president Bob Kendrick and museum board chairman Stewart Myers pose with a ceremonial check for $1 million during ceremonies before a baseball game between the host Kansas City Royals and the Boston Red Sox on June 21, 2017. MLB and its players' union presented a $1 million grant to the museum.While the NBA, the NHL and Major League Soccer have figured out deals to return in this summer of the coronavirus, professional baseball has descended into the fractious labor strife that led to eight work stoppages from 1972 to 1995. The union has seethed since a collective bargaining agreement in late 2016 that has led to relatively flat salaries for five straight years, an unsuccessful grievance accusing the Chicago Cubs of manipulating third baseman Kris Bryant's service time to delay his eligibility for free agency and a grievance accusing teams of improperly using revenue sharing proceeds, a process the union calls "tanking."
These raw negotiations heighten the chance of a spring training lockout after the current collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1, 2021.
"Given your continued insistence on hundreds of millions of dollars of additional pay reductions, we assume these negotiations are at an end," union chief negotiator Bruce Meyer wrote in a letter to deputy commissioner Dan Halem on Saturday that was obtained by The Associated Press. "If it is your intention to unilaterally impose a season, we again request that you inform us and our members of how many games you intend to play and when and where players should report. It is unfair to leave players and the fans hanging at this point, and further delay risks compromising health and safety. We demand that you inform us of your plans by close of business on Monday."
Players and MLB agreed to a deal on March 26 calling for prorated salaries, $170 million in salary advances and a guarantee of service time for 2020 even if no games are played.
That deal agreement gave commissioner Rob Manfred the right to start the season provided there were no travel restrictions and games could be played in front of fans in regular-season ballparks. It called for "good faith" negotiations to play in empty ballparks or neutral sites.
Players insist they should not have to accept additional cuts. A unilateral decision to start play could mean the playoffs would remain at 10 teams and not expand to 16, as both sides have proposed. High-risk players can opt out and still receive salary and service, but others who sit out would lose both.
"The solidarity of the players has never been more concentrated in years," said Scott Boras, baseball's most high-profile agent, who has three clients on the union's eight-man executive subcommittee.
AP photo by Michael Owen Baker / Sports agent Scott Boras watches batting practice before a game between the host Los Angeles Dodgers and the Oakland Athletics on April 10, 2018.MLB made three economic offers, with the most recent offered Friday, and the union proposed two. The executive subcommittee held a call Saturday followed by a larger group with about 100 players, including the full executive committee and others.
The sides remain far apart on how much players should get of the $4 billion in salaries they originally were set to earn: MLB has offered to guarantee $1.27 billion and increase the total to $1.45 billion if the postseason is completed. Players want $2.25 billion and an 89-game season.
"Players want to play. It's who we are and what we do," said Clark, the former journeyman first baseman who retired in 2009 after a 15-year playing career in the majors. "Since March, the association has made it clear that our No. 1 focus is playing the fullest season possible, as soon as possible, as safely as possible. Players agreed to billions in monetary concessions as a means to that end, and in the face of repeated media leaks and misdirection we made additional proposals to inject new revenues into the industry - proposals that would benefit the owners, players, broadcast partners, and fans alike. It's now become apparent that these efforts have fallen upon deaf ears."
Manfred said last week there is a "100%" chance of a season, adding "unequivocally we are going to play Major League Baseball this year." It would be the shortest season in more than a century, though, and Meyer's letter to Halem cited remaining open issues in the proposed health protocol needed before players report for a resumption of training.
MLB team owners must now decide whether to go ahead with a shortened schedule of perhaps 48 or 50 games. A 50-game regular season at prorated salaries would total $1.23 billion, leaving the union to claim about $1 billion plus interest in damages should the case continue to a decision and players prevail.