AP photo by Jeff Roberson / Atlanta Braves infielders Dansby Swanson, right, and Ozzie Albies celebrate a 3-1 victory over the host St. Louis Cardinals in Game 3 of their National League Division Series on Oct. 6, 2019.NEW YORK - Extra innings that start with runners on second base, games ending in ties and players returning to the lineup as substitutions are among the possibilities for a radically altered 2020 Major League Baseball season, one limited to a maximum 60 games by teams that claim they can't afford more due to the coronavirus pandemic.
MLB included the controversial extra-inning runner rule in its proposal Wednesday for a 60-game season, down from an initial 82, and also wants it for 2021. The MLB Players Association accepted the rule Thursday for 2020 only in its counterproposal for 70 games, down from an initial 114.
The union also said it wants to discuss allowing games to end in ties "after a certain number of innings" and "the relaxation of substitution rules in extra innings."
Copies of both proposals were obtained by The Associated Press. Some aspects were first reported by USA Today. The runner on second rule has been used in the minor leagues the past two seasons.
One big on-field change already has been agreed to by both sides if there is a deal: expansion of the designated hitter to all games, even those exclusively involving National League teams.
A deal is far from certain.
MLB deputy commissioner Dan Halem told union chief negotiator Bruce Meyer on Friday that teams will not make another proposal. Commissioner Rob Manfred has threatened an an even shorter schedule of perhaps 50 games or fewer.
The union's executive board is likely to meet Saturday.
Complicating any possible resumption, MLB shut all 30 training camps in Arizona and Florida for coronavirus testing after the Philadelphia Phillies said five players and three others tested positive. The San Francisco Giants and the Toronto Blue Jays also reported either positive tests or symptoms that could indicate the disease.
IndyCar, NASCAR, the PGA Tour, horse racing and mixed martial arts have already returned to action - with fans either already present on a limited basis or plans in the works - since the mid-March shutdown of sports due to the pandemic. In addition, MLS, the NBA and the NHL have been able to make plans to complete their suspended seasons in some form, with the NFL is operating as if its season will kick off on time.
However, baseball has been unable to cope with the economic dislocation caused by the pandemic and the prospect of playing in empty ballparks, reverting to the fractious labor strife that led to eight work stoppages from 1972 to 1995. With time slipping away, the sport will have at best its shortest schedule since the dawn of professional baseball in the 1870s.
MLB team owners and players are increasingly dismayed with each other and appear headed to a spring training lockout in 2022. The current collective bargaining agreement expires in December 2021.
Manfred flew to Arizona and met with union head Tony Clark for five hours on Tuesday in an effort to end the fighting and strike a deal. The commissioner said the next day the sides had reached a framework for a 60-game regular season schedule and the full prorated pay that players had demanded, and the postseason would expand from 10 teams to 16 this year and either 14 or 16 in 2021. Like the extra innings experiment, the larger postseason would occur only in the event of an agreement. MLB wants the right to institute a "bubble" environment if needed for health reasons, but the union is insisting it should have to give consent, "which shall not unreasonably be withheld."
Clark refused to call it a framework, though, and said his eight-player executive subcommittee rejected it. The union countered with a 70-game schedule as part of a proposal that left the sides about $275 million apart. MLB immediately rejected that offer.
"MLB has informed the association that it will not respond to our last proposal and will not play more than 60 games," the union said in a statement released Friday night. "Our executive board will convene in the near future to determine next steps. Importantly, players remain committed to getting back to work as soon as possible."
Absent an agreement, Manfred has the right to announce a schedule of any length MLB chooses, but the union has threatened a grievance claiming it would not meet the sides' stipulation that requires "the fullest 2020 championship season and postseason that is economically feasible" consistent with additional provisions. The union also thinks teams understate revenue and would ask arbitrator Mark Irvings to order a broad financial disclosure of broadcast, stadium, real estate and other agreements involving MLB, its clubs and affiliates and the entities and individuals that own them and do business with them.
But the union, with only a one-word comment - "reject" - did not embrace MLB's offer to jointly retain an independent consultant to review MLB's financial reporting procedures and issue a report with recommendations by March 1.
Both sides envision opening day on July 19 or 20 and a need first for three days of testing and three weeks of training. That leaves only a few days for a deal that would allow pitchers and catchers to report next Friday, followed by position players two days later. A schedule is to be issued by Thursday.
Players originally were set to earn about $4 billion in salaries this year, the fifth straight year of relatively flat payrolls. That total would be cut to $1.73 billion for a 70-game schedule, $1.48 billion for 60 games and $1.23 billion for 50 games - roughly matching the total in MLB's initial proposal for an 82-game schedule with a sliding salary scale.
In addition, MLB has offered a $25 million postseason players' pool, even if there are no fans in the stands. The union has proposed $50 million. Normally, the pool is funded from postseason ticket sales.
The union also wants all players released during the resumption of spring training to receive a full season of termination pay rather than the 60 days proposed by clubs.
While MLB has proposed that high-risk players with medical conditions be able to opt out of the season and still receive salary and service time, the union wants the group expanded to players who live with high-risk individuals, including pregnant spouses. The union also wants a stipulation that no players will be required to sign a waiver or acknowledgment of risk.
Both sides agree they would suspend the luxury tax for 2020 only, a move that would benefit mostly the New York Yankees but to a lesser degree the Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs.
The sides reached an agreement on March 26 that included prorated salaries, $170 million in salary advances and a guarantee of service time if no games are played. That deal says the season shall not start without Manfred's consent unless there are no relevant travel restrictions in the Canada and the United States, no restrictions on mass gatherings that prevent games in all 30 teams' home ballparks and it is safe to play in front of fans in all of those venues.
The deal called for "good faith" discussions on the economic feasibility of playing in empty ballparks or neutral sites.