A baseball breakthrough? MLB commissioner says framework in place for a 2020 season
This time, it seems to be really happening.
Baseball could be on the verge of coming back.
The 30 MLB team owners and the MLB Players Association have reached agreement on a framework that could lead to a 2020 season, Commissioner Rob Manfred said Wednesday afternoon.
The statement came after Manfred flew from New York to Arizona, the home state of MLBPA executive director Tony Clark, on Tuesday and held a face-to-face meeting that lasted several hours.
The proposal from MLB that got the season back on track reportedly includes full pro-rated pay for players, the demand they never wavered from, over a 60-game season. The postseason would be expanded from 10 teams to 16, and players would not pursue a grievance against the league for not scheduling as many games as possible.
Final details are pending, and there are many to hash out. The players could propose playing more games, and the safety protocols to prevent the spread of COVID-19 will be critical.
Manfred, though, is so confident an agreement will soon be reached that he has instructed teams to begin moving more earnestly in their plans for a season.
“At my request, Tony Clark and I met for several hours yesterday in Phoenix,” Manfred said. “We left that meeting with a jointly developed framework that we agreed could form the basis of an agreement and subject to conversations with our respective constituents.
“I summarized that framework numerous times in the meeting and sent Tony a written summary today. Consistent with our conversations yesterday, I am encouraging the clubs to move forward and I trust Tony is doing the same.”
The meetings produced a drastic U-turn from only Monday, when Manfred said he could no longer guarantee there would be a season. Only four days earlier he had guaranteed a season, which many believed at minimum he would call for a season of around 50 games.
MLB made another proposal Friday, which was resoundingly rejected by the players and led to Clark telling the owners to schedule the season and tell the players where and when to show up.
Many took that to mean the players would be filing a grievance against MLB in which they might seek $1 billion.
The owners responded Monday, telling players they would have to waive all legal options, i.e. no grievances, for there to be a season. That’s why Manfred backed off his guarantee, but in the end the act was nothing more than a Hail Mary the galvanized players wouldn’t answer.
Manfred’s decision to fly to Clark’s home was, in itself, a concession. Offering players their full pro-rated salaries was an admission that the owners are desperate to avoid a possible grievance against them and to salvage as much revenue as they can.
As the MLBPA said, there is no final deal in place. If baseball fans have learned anything during the shutdown for the coronavirus pandemic, it’s that the owners and players have, at best, a rocky relationship.
But after the past week, the idea of a framework for a season feels like a breakthrough.
