Last weekend, Major League Baseball made its most recent collective bargaining proposal to the MLB Players Association. Evan Drellich of the Athletic tweeted at the time that MLB had informed the union of what it viewed as the latest possible date to work out an agreement for the regular season to begin on March 31 as scheduled. This afternoon, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that date as February 28. In the league’s view, if no collective bargaining agreement is in place by the end of February, the regular season start date will have to be pushed back.
It’s not clear whether the MLBPA agrees with that assertion. Perhaps the union thinks a deal could be worked out a few days into March without interruption to the beginning of the season. Yet simple math dictates that a new CBA would need be in place within around two weeks to avoid a delay. Opening Day is scheduled for exactly six weeks from now. Teams will need time to conduct the remainder of their offseasons while players will need some exhibition play to work back into game shape. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said last week he viewed four weeks as an appropriate amount of time for Spring Training. Players had a three-week training period during 2020 Summer Camp, and Manfred suggested repeating that process would be insufficient.
MLB could also lift the lockout and allow the games to proceed in the absence of a new CBA. The league certainly isn’t going to take that course of action, though, leaving little time for an agreement if they’re to avoid delays. Manfred expressed optimism about that possibility last week, but the latest developments on the CBA front seem to leave little reason to believe there won’t be some form of delay.
In the week since Manfred met with the media, both MLB and the MLBPA have made one core economics proposal. Each party came away generally dissatisfied with the other’s offer, and the chances of them bridging the still-significant gaps within the next two weeks seem very slim.
With time dwindling, Jeff Passan of ESPN reports (on Twitter) that MLB and the MLBPA are planning to conduct multiple bargaining sessions next week, perhaps meeting every day beginning Monday. Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet hears (Twitter link) that MLB has expressed some willingness to move towards the union’s demands on the competitive balance tax and efforts to get players paid earlier in their careers.
Notably, Nicholson-Smith adds in a second tweet that the union has informed the league they’d be unlikely to agree to playoff expansion in 2022 if the regular season were shortened. Expanding the postseason is a key objective for MLB, which would stand to benefit greatly from the ability to market extra games to television partners. The league has sought a 14-team playoff, while the union has expressed a willingness to go to 12 teams. However, Nicholson-Smith’s report indicates there’s some chance the MLBPA will refuse to go beyond 10 postseason teams this year if any regular season games are lost, thereby costing players game checks.
If that’s true then you better put together a deal worth taking, Bobby.
The MLB has been pretty generous. The players are drawing this thing out. They want a delay so they can just blame the owners.
Ha ha, good one. Almost thought it was a bootlicker
They locked the players out. What have they offered that is “pretty generous?’
Minimum salary of $620,000…….
The players union collectively bargained for the minimum salary. The owners didn’t give it to them.
Mrs. Manfred, I disagree with your sentiment.
The players have everything to lose,m. I don’t think they’d sacrifice being able to do their job on time to try to say the owners are bad. Any human with a brain should be able to tell the owners are the bad party in this situation
THE OWNERS HAVE LOCKED OUT THE PLAYERS
The owners really should just end the lockout. Institute whatever ownership rules they want as long as they meet the financial demands of the individual contracts they have signed. Any players who decide to go on strike later stop accumulating service time and have their guaranteed contracts voided for breach of contract. The players probably wouldn’t even go on strike. Just forget about even attempting any future CBA and roll with it. It would be funny to see guys like Heyward or Strasburg refuse to show up. You know their teams would love stop paying them for violation of contractual terms. That probably wouldn’t happen though. I think it was Tim Dierkes who wrote an article not too long ago saying he really doubted the players would go on strike. I’m inclined to agree. Without any future CBA in place they would risk losing all the money left in their deals and wouldn’t be able to jump back into the MLB free agent pool. Any players who did would be sacrificing their MLB careers and have to go to Japan. Does anyone know if they even have a players association in Japan? I heard a long time ago unions weren’t allowed there but I don’t know if that has changed.
It’s the far east,
they don’t even
have human
rights….
@Please Hammer: Labor Law doesn’t work that way. Both sides could kick the can down the road if the owners lift the lockout and continue under the current CBA while players agree not to strike.
But ownership cannot impose a settlement . That simply leads to a quick injunction from the courts.
CT: In other areas of bargaining he’s right. In public Branches of government, they can “impose a contract” in many places (particularly in the south where management right is stronger).
That doesn’t apply in MLB though, as it’s a very different style system.
I think it is time to bust this union. They are all grossly overpaid. They don’t even have decent demands because they have already been given everything. How does a guy get a job in AAA making minimum wage and the next week you are in MLB making $570,000? In MLB most rookies cannot hit their weight, get sent back down in a couple months yet get a fully guaranteed contract for the whole season. .
Hey Bob, I understand the sentiment, but that actually called, “union busting” and isn’t legal.
I disagree with his sentiment and yours but you are correct union busting is illegal.
I don’t agree with his sentiment, I merely understand what he’s saying and why.
Jorge78 ignorant statement . South Korea and Japan are far more advanced economically and socially any country in South America
THE PLAYERS WILL NOT AGREE TO A NEW CBA
I guess if you state one side of the obvious in capital letters somehow that intellectually proves your point?
My heart doesn’t bleed for people complaining about making $750,000 a year in their 20’s until they make millions in their thirties!
Owners take all the risk…
Bring on the replacement AAA players and lets start over; let the union be a union of people without jobs and we can’t start young players on a new union and CBA of their own!
The same players union that guarantees a guy who got caught twice and stated after the first time he did not do it a total of 48 million dollars over the next 2 years!
You understand the players have all the leverage once the season starts, right? They can just push the owners until late in the year and threaten to strike right before the playoffs which hurts the owners financially. This needs to be finalized before the season starts or the entire year will get blown up.
Oh Alien Bob
What a silly statement. MLB players have been given everything?
What other field do you have to dedicate 15 years of your life for an average career window of three years? Not to mention an extremely competitive field that draws from countries all over the world.
How do you justify the value of franchises and the revenue generated, and say that the actual product (who are human beings, by the way) shouldn’t get a massive slice of the pie?
Help me understand
It’s call salary cap and the players don’t want a salary cap. That was the problem in 94
The owners reduced the number of minor league teams and minor league players. It’s a wash.
Sarcasm Alert!
The luxury tax, which is more of a salary cap than other leagues have, has doubled since implementation, while league revenues have tripled. The major league minimum hasn’t moved appreciably in a long time, which affects the majority of players, who don’t get careers of longer than 2 years (median). The owners are also squeezing minor leaguers, killing 1/4 of all minor league teams, paying sub minimum wages at lower levels, and refusing to pay the players for spring training. I wonder if the cities can’t embinent domain the owners all out. It can’t get worse.
Huh? other leagues have strict salary caps.
Yea but leagues with a cap often have ways to get over the cap, ever heard of the MLE in basketball?
So generous they locked players out and didn’t negotiate for month and half and conceded $100k. So generous
Right and not get paid. That makes a ton of sense.
LOL the owners haven’t been negotiating at all. But what difference does it matter whom is to blame?
But the owners are to blame. Are you an owner or a billionaire? If the answer is no, then you obviously will eat your own kind.
They obviously are out of touch? Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results? Definition of insanity? The 2020 season they had a 4 week spring training and results showed it wasn’t good for the players health? It caused a slu of UCL tears followed by season ending TMS procedures for multiple players? Here we are again?
If they meet somewhere near the middle it would be about a difference the same as the METS current payroll? What’s the hold up on that? Manfreds quivering upper lip?
Time for baseball’s anti-trust exemption to sunset. If this isn’t interstate commerce, then what the heck is?
Can you tell me how it effects their negotiations? Short of a team moving the anti-trust seems to only be holding down minor leagues which the MLBPA does not speak for until the player has a day of service time and become a major leaguer.
Please let me know if i am missing something as i truly dont see how much teeth this has with the mlbpa anymore other than opening the flood gates for the minor leaguers to get more money and reducing how much is available to the big leagues and major league players.
Which leads me to another question as people have been arguing about salary, just to make numbers easy lets say a player gets 500k in salary and again to make the numbers easier lets say he is taxed around 35% so that 170k off the bat gone agents are what 10% … so another 50k gone. So before any benefits or anything like that they are at 280k still a very good take home … but how much of that goes to the mlbpa? I am sure there is a union due that is paid especially if they want to have money for a prolonged strike.
It was $85 per day in 2021, not a significant dent really.
thanks adamontheshore. I always thought it was a small percent but that seems really small to have a huge pool for the players to pull from. Maybe there is other revenues or they just been saving for a long time lol.
They have
merchandise
money they
have saved…..
If the antitrust exemption means so little to the owners they should have no problem giving it up. Why is it the owners have battled on more than one occasion to keep it?
If i read it correctly and please please correct me if i am wrong on any of the below
teams could move willy nilly around as they feel
minor leaguers will be able to ask / sue for more money. Again to make math easy 25 players for 5 levels of minor league with 30 teams is 4,000 players. If they ask for 1k raise thats 4M out of major league teams budget 100k raise is 400M. Imagine MLBPA losing 400M from the salaries from the players they represent.
It also gives the owners the right to negotiate tv contracts independent of each other. So a team like the yankees can create their own stations and control their market.
it also controls who is in the club of owners (ie the owners keeping mark cuban out for whatever reason) and expansion or contraction for the good of competition.
removing the lower level minors was a great move imo. Too many players wasting good years climbing the ladder and even more players wasting good years trying to climb the ladder. If they took the money saved by not having those players and gave it to the remaining minor leaguers I think it would be a great start
But they are not giving the money they saved to the rest of the minor leaguers.
didnt they just agree to increase the minor league pay and start covering more for the minor league expenses like travel and hotels and nutrition? Or was that something they said they would do as they realize they need to take care of their prospects.
You’re tearing me apart, Lisa!!!!
Anyway, how’s your sex life?
Oh, hi Mark.
Oh go get a room together already…
Ha ha ha, what a funny story, Mark!
This is exactly the crisis that MLB had their hearts set on when they refused to negotiate with the players if they didn’t take important issues off the table, then declared a lockout, then did nothing for over six weeks, and are still demanding a salary cap that has zero chance of ever being in an agreement.
Time for the players to give notice that there will be no extended playoffs if any regular season games are missed.
They are not demanding a salary cap. Come on now.
Increasing the draft pick penalties for going over the LT limits in essence is hardening the cap. Teams already were viewing the current penalties as a hard cap they were unwilling to go over. Making them harsher will only make that worse. No way the MLBPA goes for that.
Well the Dodgers didn’t consider it a cap.
Actually, that’s not what they’re calling it, but they want to increase the penalties while keeping the threshold low. Some teams already use this as a soft cap. With the changes MLB is proposing, they hope more will treat it as such. Hey, gotta reign in that Cohen dude…
Why? The Mets still suck.
But they try not
to suck. Try
being a Orioles
fan…..
Soooooooo, you’re telling me there’s a chance.
Snowball’s chance?
It was a Dumb & Dumber quote, and a golden one at that.
You’ll have to excuse my friend. He’s a little slow…
Just when I think you couldn’t possibly be any dumber. You go and do something like this…
Big gulps eh? Well, c ya later!
We got no food, we got no jobs…OUR PETS’ HEADS ARE FALLING OFF!!
You can’t triple stamp a double stamp!
Austria! Well, then. G’day mate! Let’s put another shrimp on the barbie!
She gave me a bunch of crap about me not listening to her, or something. I don’t know, I wasn’t really paying attention.
June 15 is the current over under for a cba….first pitch post all star break
My initial prediction was June 3rd. I think were passed that after 35 minutes of combined negotiations. This is going through the season at this point.
And I thought Valentines day would fill the air with kumbaya. I gotta stop drinking…..
Here comes the strike.
Manfred is walking small with a little stick and the MLBPA is out here playing the role of Theodore Roosevelt.
Put up or shut up baseball.
Can’t strike when they’re locked out.
You can strike while you are locked out but it just bad PR to do it and it serves no purpose. Its like your boss telling you your fired but then you say fine then i quit.
you cannot strike while you are locked out.
I was arguing with my boss about that exact same thing.
He fired me for it, so I quit.
The league putting out timetables as if they care if games are lost, or as if they’re not responsible for the majority of the blooper reel that is this non-negotiation is amusing.
Think of the suckers who bought tix to the opening woof exhibition games(Feb 26-28).
MLB has their money and no intention staging games
*weekend not woof
(perhaps my siri is holding a protest of its own)
I had to laugh when the Feb 27 Yanks/Sox game sold out in minutes. It would have been two fringe Yankee players and a bunch of minor leaguers representing the Yanks. But scalpers were still selling tickets for more than $150 each. JAJAJA!
Spring training games cost money to attend? Who would pay to attend those?
If both sides were concerned wouldn’t they be in there day and night trying to figure this out? I’m sure there’s more to it but having a 15 minute meeting to exchange proposals is weak A.F.
Yeah, that’s what bothers me the most about all this. it’s like they’re not even trying. If they were at the table hours on end and still didn’t agree, at least I would feel like they give a crap. This is bull bleep.
This is exactly it. My son and his cousin (in another state) will leave video chat open for hours with long bouts of silence while they play games or do whatever. Perhaps both sides can take a similar approach with interns monitoring screens whenever one side wants to throw out an idea. Leave communication channels open instead of open and shut. These meetings seem every unproductive.
That sounds like my son and nephew lol
There is no sense of urgency, if there was then they’d already be negotiating every day including weekends and holidays.
I’m beginning to think they get it done in time. Really, the MLBPA isn’t going to wind up getting anything of substance, even if they get everything they want. No changes to the nature of service time (allowing for its continued manipulation). comical increases in the minimum wage, no additional roster spots, no participation in gaming revenue….pretty much they’re dancing to the owners’ tune.
You don’t understand the players anger and hate for the owners. This isn’t 1981. They have millions socked away. Get ready for a lost season. Hockey
went through it, basketball went through it, it’s inevitable…..
Something like 60% of the MLBPA are young players. Most of them do not have much saved up. Not sure how much the union set aside to help them cover expenses if there’s a long lockout.
The owners have the advantage. There are no issues worthy of a substantial # of MLBPA members falling on their swords for. And as this continues- they will. NRIs are reporting -some as soon as this week. Some of them-will replace current 40 man roster guys when ST resumes & active rosters are constructed. As every week of the lockout extends, that number will grow.
NRI means Non-Roster Invitee, a player in Major League camp on a Minor League contract. Unfortunately the Major League camps have not opened so the NRI players cannot report.
Anyone ready for opening day on June 1?
Dream on…..
No urgency here. That to me is what is more telling from this whole process. I like how MLBPA changed their proposal but there needs to be more collaboration. The owners need to provide more concessions. Add the Manfred is utter garbage is only more telling how majority archaic minded the owners are. The minors and majors need upgrades, and individual organizations need new ownership. The fact that there is insane amount of talent developing a younger ages, I wonder how much more we would be available if the leagues and organizations were run better.
This fight between millionaires and billionaires is going to destroy any goodwill that MLB created during the pandemic. People were excited when baseball started back up in 2020 and it brought a lot of positive attention to the game. Now they will squander it by reminding the fans that it is all about money – money they take from the fans. Just like movie theaters – people will adapt and move on without baseball. Another step toward the grave. for MLB.
While I agree that this is extremely annoying, the “movie theaters” comparison is not accurate. People haven’t given up movies. They’ve simply given up seeing them in theaters. Movies are still being made. They’re just coming to streaming services a lot more than they were before and people are watching them at home.
Sub in a different sport or activity and its valid. MLB competes for peoples time and money amongst options. and a delayed season will send those folks to other options
I mean, I’ve personally given up on most movies because they are full of woke nonsense. But that’s just me…and at least 50% of the general population.
Oh, let me guess?
Bring back westerns
were no one has sex
and people of color are evil and must be defeated for white expansion?
There’s never never been a more diverse list of movies than ever existed today.
You are wrong…..
Yea, 2020. That was a hair pulling nightmare. They don’t care about you right now Elwood…..
What percentage of 40 man roster players are millionaires (post tax)?
By definition, a billionaire has 1,000 times more money than a million. That’s a stark difference. And, of course, as others have mentioned, a large percentage of MLB players are not millionaires.
Who cares?! Where’s my KBO updates???
I guess we’re going to have to have an Eminem/MGK type rap battle between the two sides for this to get settled.
Hold the line, owners. AND DON’T GIVE IN ANYMORE!!! Another great article, Anthony- thanks.
hold the line, players. AND DON’T GIVE IN ANYMORE!!!!
And the opinion of the two sides!
So mlb revenues went up since last cba and average player salaries went down last four years, and you want to tell the owners to hold the line?!
And MLB has no desire to get this done in 11 days and start on time. They want this to go into the regular season just to punish the players. It isn’t just business, it is personal.
This is a really bad take. Try again
This is an accurate take. The owners have locked the players out. They’re behind this.
Both sides hate each other.
This is going to get ugly…..
It’s already ugly: have you seen Manfred?
F you MLB.
…
I love you. Come back!
Had a girlfriend like that once.
Once?
June 1st maybe ?
Maybe they know fans will crawl back on their knees !!
It took steroids and 70 HR seasons last time
And that was before social media
People are much more hard headed now
They are both screwing themselves and neither is smart enough to see it
They don’t care…..
What a collection of jerk offs.
Every time I see a picture of Manfred I naturally check to make sure my wallet is still there.
Woah, anti-semite.
Uh, how’s that?
I’m pretty sure he’s Catholic.
Jerry Seinfeld: I wanted to talk to you about Dr. Whatley. I have a suspicion that he’s converted to Judaism just for the jokes.
Father Curtis: And this offends you as a Jewish person?
Jerry Seinfeld: No, it offends me as a comedian.
I still don’t get why fans are taking sides. There are three sides to this.
1) billionaires (owners)
2) millionaires (most MLB players)
3) average Joe (fans)
Notice who isn’t able to be at the table negotiating their demands? Guess who is left with the short end of the stick when this is all done.
If you had a seat at the table, what would you say? I’m granting you permission to represent me and MetsFan22.
Because you’re incorrect on #3. We are all fans, but we don’t own teams and we don’t play the game and we don’t share in the money.
Fans have a say with their wallets.
Although a Fan Association would be interesting and fun, it would probably be impossible to manage and unify. Just check out these boards for proof of that!
I don’t get the fan that roots for the MLBPA – if they get more out of this, we get a less competitive league as the gap between small market and large increases
Then finally the owners like any business when their costs are raised will make a few cuts elsewhere then pass the rest of the increase to us the consumer. That’s how life works n businesses play.
Good luck players association thanks for the kick in the nuts
Idealistically you’re right, however it matters not when the small market teams tank and are already paid for by big market revenue. Capping big markets will harm competitiveness, as it has been doing. It’s because ownership isn’t trying and still being rewarded, still making a significant profit, and the gap problem is not even on their radar because it’s a non-issue for them. Their only concern is keeping costs down and driving profits up.
I guess the A’s haven’t made the playoffs 11 out of the last 20 years or the Ray’s 7 of the last 11 years
That’s a very generic view of a more complex problem epitomized by the Rays & A’s, both of whom get a pass because they simply make the playoffs even though they literally never win…. And never will operating like they are, solely on others’ money.
It’s a sham, and Stu simply mastered the scheme.
Do you forget that those two teams have been saving for last 7 years to build a stadium and not close yet? A stadium is critical to long term success mind you the spend a higher percent of gross income on payroll than do teams like the Yankees using the tax as a cap but Yankees and other large markets can easily stroke a 700mm check for a new stadium. It’s broken but more is at large market level refusing to spend as they should for livelihood of the entire league. This cba hits the small markets where it hurts – no impact to large teams – so stupid
They aren’t planing on paying for said stadium and they don’t pay for their payroll but have it supplemented, correct? And the more the big markets go over the threshold the more money goes to revenue sharing… It actually hurts small markets by having a cap.
Don’t buy the lie, that’s how they’ve games the entire system. Why do you think the Yankees want to operate like the Rays & A’s financially? It makes no sense unless their profit margins were substantial, and they are.
The current Yankee Stadium was built in large part with taxpayer money. So was Citi Field and most of the other Major League ballparks.
Yep, and most other ballparks. Owners never plan on their own money, nor do they save for a stadium. That’s all a narrative they pass on to convince people they’re skimping for a legitimate reason.
Jealousy will get you nowhere.
Incorrect verify your information – the broke ass Mets pre Cohen, did sell a bond for which they covered on the private side as well as a muni and the Yankees cut an almost 700mm check. That’s with a large market tax Pool which small markets don’t have. Also look at Marlins case where the city had to suit the owner after sale to recover an equitable down payment. In the end cities and tax payers have learned their lessons and asking for mlb franchises to come up a significant down payment somewhere between 35-50% of total project. I wish Tampa and Oakland tax payers luck with their negotiations as they should not pay thru the nose for their gigs in the end small markets bleed heavily with unfairness in MLB structure
Now in Tampa NFL and Hockey stadium arrangements have been different also with local ownership who have long time city partners (millions on donation and joint development projects outside their stadium too) and continue to develop the area. In the case of Rays that distant owner has much work to do still engage a city for support and giving from their part. I do live in Florida but not in tampa or a tax payer there. Thank god. But I do enjoy taking the family to games minor and mlb games as long as not paying a fortune for quality baseball. It’s a tricky relationship between, players – owners – fans with cost controls as important measure for sustainability
Balloon: I did verify it, brother. Yankees spent $670M and used $1.2B(!) of “public money” to build the most expensive stadium in MLB. Yes, they absolutely did use and abuse taxpayer money to the tune of 2/3 of their stadium costs.
nytimes.com/2018/07/11/nyregion/stadiums-arenas-fu…
Well it’s entirely out of the control of the average Joe, so there’s that. And I’m personally tired of the players getting screwed by the owners as well. I want young impact talent to play immediately when it is ready. Enough games. Enough manipulation.
Most players are NOT millionaires. Well, I guess compared to your salary driving a bus, but whatever,
both sides don’t care about you. They know you will be back…..
Most players are not millionaires? Just about every single player in the MLBPA is a millionaire with few exceptions.
Phantom
What percentage of baseball players are millionaires?
Out of the ones in the union? The vast majority. Minor leaguers are different, but this negotiation isn’t about them
Phantom,
“The ones in the Union”?
No offense, but your post screams ignorance.
If you’re on a forty man roster, you’re part of the Union. Since there are only 26 spots on a major league roster, there are 14 players per organization that are union members that are not in the major leagues. So that’s 420 Union non major leaguers, minimum at any given time.
That means that 35% of the entire union is making a minor league salary, whether it’s first year or second year forty man salary.
Half of all major league players are on league minimum, roughly 390 players.
So if 480 union members are making no more than $80k in the minors, and 390 players are making no more than $600k in the majors, you can do the math to figure out how long it would take those 870 guys to save $1,000,000 post tax if the most you can possibly clear per year is around $340k (not including state tax, cost of living and food).
After that, extrapolate out the average major league career at three years to determine how 72% of the Union that makes less than $580k a year could possibly be worth $1MM or more.
“That means that 35% of the entire union is making a minor league salary, whether it’s first year or second year forty man salary.”
No, it doesn’t. That’s not, remotely, how that works. You’re making a large “logical” jump that everyone on the 40 is a first time addition. Some of those guys have been up and down, which means they are making more than the minor league pay. Players that are on a split minor league are making a $93000 minimum
The average salary of someone in the union, per the union website, is $4.17 million. Granted, averages can be brought up by the heavy top, but still. You are trying to make it sound like the majority of players are making poverty wages, which is insane.
Per the
“ You’re making a large “logical” jump that everyone on the 40 is a first time addition”
No, I said that at most you’re making second year forty man salary, which you corrected me was 93k, not 80k. A $13k difference. You make $93k only if you’re a second year 40 man player or have major league service.
Average salary is irrelevant in this discussion. You claimed the majority of union members are millionaires. That was your argument. It’s not even close to true.
“ You are trying to make it sound like the majority of players are making poverty wages, which is insane.”
No, I’m pointing out the fact that the truth isn’t even close to your assertion that most union members are millionaires, which they’re not, and it’s not close.
93,000 “minimum” btw. And the average is not irrelevant in the slightest. You claimed that 80 was the “maximum”, when in fact the number is 93, and that number is a minimum not a maximum,.
Millionaire status is also determined by net worth, not by your annual salary. I am not going to go through a list of everyone in the MLBPA, but your 38% of union members being millionaires is nonsense.
“ You claimed that 80 was the “maximum”, when in fact the number is 93, and that number is a minimum not a maximum”
It’s not minimum. $93k is second year forty man salary, unless you’ve been called up. First year forty man is $46k. If you’re on the 40 man roster and spend zero time in the major leagues, you make $46k, but you’re still in the union.
“Millionaire status is also determined by net worth, not by your annual salary.”
You’re the one claiming the vast majority of union members are millionaires. That’s not possible when 35% of the union is made up of guys making $46k-$93k. Half of the remaining (roughly) 780 players (roughly 390) make MLB league minimum.
So, explain how the “vast majority” of union members are millionaires if the average major league career lasts three years, and union members make $46k-$570k during that span of time (three years). You can’t because over seventy percent of the union never has the opportunity to make that kind of money in three years post tax.
“ I am not going to go through a list of everyone in the MLBPA”
Clearly you should have given it considerably more thought, seeing as 35% of the union is making 40 man minor league salary at any given time.
Well, perhaps some of us slip into that area between #’s 2 & 3, @MFBase.
But the divisiveness is semi-interesting. Some fellas laud the players as an example of oppressed workers. Others trumpet the owners as savvy businessman. Neither is true. But: there sure is a helluva lot of argument about it & which “side” one is on. Arguments that oftentimes ignore Robert’s Rules of Order, incidentally.
Ducky is my hero! #Ducknation
I’ll take this as a positive sign. Meeting daily will begin to force the issue.
The MLBPA letting MLB know there will be no postseason expansion if games are lost is a wise move. It’s been reported the owners see an additional $100M from playoff expansion. We also know they have a pending deal with Apple for regular season games worth millions more. Owners will lose that money every week the season is shortened. And, of course, an international draft will also save them money. So, the owners have a lot to lose here, yet so far they’ve been uwilling to offer much of substance. Hopefully, that’s about to change.
The players have a right to be annoyed, but at the same time they are to blame for the prior bad agreements they signed off on. They’re not going to undo those in one CBA. Pick certain battles now. Higher thresholds on the competitive balance tax and higher minimum salaries. Maybe the addition of the player pool off money.
The owners are desperate for an expanded postseason. The MLBPA should not agree to it unless they get back some significant items. Maybe now MLB is willing to negotiate.
Excellent points, Rob. I think part of these daily meetings will be a learning curve for MLB. They believe they wield the power and are satisfied to sit on their hands while the players lose money, thereby forcing the issue to their liking. However, players already know what to expect because it’s a predictable playbook & players know they only have to stay committed for owners to fold.
The owners have way more money to fund themselves, but they need to begin paying back the TV networks for the lost 2020. The networks paid out in full with the promise MLB would begin to make good in 2022 when everything returned to normal. A lockout won’t be returning to normal. That’s why they need the season to begin basically on time for the Apple deal, and they want the additional postseason revenue. The players have more bargaining leverage than usual. I think they know it and they’ll use it.
Still being an optimist. I think they’ll find a way to an agreement in the next couple of weeks because, in the end, both sides are still making lots of money and neither side wants to lose more so soon after 2020.
For all our annoyance, remember, we haven’t lost anything yet. No games have been canceled.
Valid points, although I have May as a potential return.
Players have millions saved up. This will not end soon…..
Jorge 40 X 30 1200 players they better have a billion saved then if this goes half a season or the big names are going to be not getting their tax bills paid. Seems like a 500M war chest won’t go very far with the greed of the players fighting over the trough.
Ditch the emotion. It’s just business. Owners hold the cards. You’re not a victim as a fan. You’re just a customer and history shows you’ll come back even though you say you won’t. I’d push my chips all in and threaten the whole season. Wait for the bottom 70% of players to push the greedy top to negotiate. They’ll cave just be patient.
Yup , the real pressure just starts when players start missing paycheques.
They have money saved up. This is Gettysburg.
It’s going to be bloody…..
jorge – You think players are financially responsible? Think again.
When the Stanford Ponzi scheme hit, Johnny Damon and Xavier Nady and Adrian Beltre and Carlos Pena and Darren Oliver said they couldn’t pay their bills because they had no money.
You also had star players like Bill Buckner, Tony Gwynn, GLord Perry and Rollie Fingers all file for bankruptcy.
I have thought this for quite some time….As a life-long Phillies fan am stoked for the current 40man roster……(no I am not crazy….)
All this posturing does push me further away…….Before I push baseball away, need a 162g season…
Yes it sucks, but we all come back! We always do. Bryce will have a hot streak and you’ll be back in front of that TV. The owners have to know this. Don’t read the posturing. It’s just a business. Let negotiations do what they do. Relax ya’ll. Owners for the win!!!
Yes, peons gotta peon.
But there is a disturbance in the force…..
You would lose that Bet
History does not show that. No strike in the history of sports ever lead to owners losing value long term. They always make more money, their team values always increase and fans always come back. It’s not emotional. It’s business. Owners should not crack.
How about locking both parties in a room, slide pizza under the door for food and they stay their until they work something out?
The Uber wealthy obviously know something about business I don’t because this posturing makes no sense.
It’s a battle of ego’s…
That would be ideal if someone had the power to do it. Not even the President (of either party)
has that power…..
Would the owners eat pizza? Lol I doubt even eat cubed steak so maybe they need a drive through window atleast lmbo
Having an arbitrator was the closest to that idea that could happen, they typically keep the conversation going. MLBPA wasn’t interested.
No reason to be interested. Like Scherzer said, they just want the owners to actually sit down and talk. Can’t do that if the owners only want sit for 15 mins and then hit the golf course.
what… again, the arbitrator will run the meeting, that’s one of the main reasons for having the arbitrator. A decent arbitrator would be the one in charge of talks so there wouldnt be any getting up and leaving after 15 minutes, from either side. The players are the ones that shut that down
The MLBPA should just get the best they can for the lower paid players. The rich players have more than enough. Forget the 10 percent and make the best deal for the 90 percent…
Dreamer. The stars are all about themselves. They wouldn’t throw a left over caviar sandwich in a hungry persons mouth because that would mean they’d have to come into contact with a hungry person. Ever notice how the NFL has all these charity initiatives they make their players participate in? See that in MLB? Thank you…..
What are you talking about, Jorge?
Provide an example of any high paid MLB player that is demanding an increasing in their own salary, or the salaries of any player making over minimum.
The NFL makes those charities and military pay to be recognized.
That’s exactly what the PA and exec board are pushing for. What demands are being made that would benefit players making more than minimum?
Why are people acting like a bunch of $100mm players are stomping their feet, demanding more money?
The luxury tax levels are probably the biggest point of contention. That definitely benefits the elite players. Also, hurts smaller markets and likely parity in the league.
Wow it’s almost like not negotiating for the entire month of December was a bad idea. Whoda thunk it?
Strategy…..
Honestly I’m looking forward to how loud the boo’s will be when Rob Manfred is introduced in the Braves ring ceremony
He makes 11 million a year! Not sure he cares if middle class America doesn’t understand how the corporate world negotiates. People act like it’s High School on this board. You really think he’s scared of your boos? Lol.
He has ear plugs.
He doesn’t care!
You people keep
attributing human
emotions to Manfred.
Stop it!
If there is a DH in the NL, then I’m done with baseball. 25 years of Fandom, done.
It’s definitely happening. I already accepted that reality two years ago.
I know a lot of american league fans that feel the same way about the Nl getting a dh. Personally i am tired of seeing my team get outbid in years on free agents because american league teams have the option of a dh and can take a greater risk on adding an extra year or two on to a deal. It is a real advantage that the american league may be about to lose.
This is nonsensical. Of all the things MLB has done the past 25 years, bringing the DH to the NL is the dealbreaker??
He’ll be back. I grew up watching Edgar Martinez at DH so I clearly have a bias but the universal DH is so much better for the league. For all the love affairs of the “strategy” and whatnot, and the random pitcher that comes along every once a decade that absolutely rakes, it’s actually boring to watch pitchers strikeout every at bat, and predictable when they’ll be pinch hit for. Just open up 15 more DH slots and make free agency that much more interesting.
Goodbye!
I feel that way if there is no DH. Very tired of watching pitchers try to hit.
I’d like to see concessions on both sides…
Nachos on one side and hot wings on the other.
Too late for humor…..
15-40 minute meetings are pretty tiring, are they sure they can do multiple in one week? It seems to be taking them at least one week between meetings for recovery right now.
Both sides are ridiculous. But both sides cannot be this stupid! The season will start on or nearly on time.
Dreamer…..
The updates are promising but I’ve been fooled before.
I’m not for either side, they’re both out of touch with us commoners but sometimes they argue just to be contrarians. MLBPA initially balked at the universal DH even though it makes more sense for players. The DH has never cost a pitcher a job but it sure has lengthened a lot of good hit/no field player’s careers.
Now MLBPA don’t like extra playoff games in exchange for less league games.
So roughly half the league would play less for the same pay and the other half would play a few extra games with extra pay and the chance to be a champion, again seems like a no brainer for the players but apparently it’s a sticking point again.
Just throwing this out there as an idea of a bit of outside the box thinking
Compensation draft
Top 5 or 10 teams in total arbitration eligible service time for season gets a compensation pick, but you can not be eligible more than 2 or 3 years in a row … similar to what they want to do to the draft
Same as above but based on agreed upon WAR type metric for each team and using pre-arbitration players. This group also gets access to the bonus pool with 50% of it going based on war for bonus and 50% based on mlb award incentives. This pool would get 30M per year funded by mlb with maybe an inflation adjustment done every year plus if there is any other money left over from the mlb award incentive it gets added to this pool next year.
for draft purposes, the same team can not be in the top 5 (or 10) for 3 consecutive years. If they do then there is a fine that the offending team must pay based on their payroll on a sliding scale. The lower the payroll the higher the fee. This fee is then split evenly amongst the players on the current team based on service time. If you are a well run team with a lower payroll then you should rarely be in the top 5 for 3 years. If you are a team poorly run and in constant state of tank and pocketing money then you will pay. If you tried and spent money but still suck you atleast will pay less. I think of this like a reverse CBT. without punishing teams like the rays and a’s that seem to really know how to spend their money.
tear it apart expand on it .. just a couple of ideas me and a couple buddies thought of to keep things moving. .
Manfred is slowly destroying the sport I love.
Maybe meet for longer than fifteen minutes?
I say owners v players UFC tournament to settle this. Let’s see how determined these guys are and get entertained in the meantime.
First match is Aaron Judge v Hal Steinbrenner – Start the bets…
The joint announcement should be the lock out is lifted and the players promise not to strike
Players will never voluntarily give up that leverage ahead of time.
This is not going well.
The lack of action by MLB,
(oh, a deadline will make them crack),
the far off base positioning
by each side.
Something evil this way comes…..
Just get it done! Anxious to see where the remaining free agents land so I can start my single league draft prep. Adopt the DH in the NL, give the youngsters a little more cash, and play ball.
It’s never been about the youngsters. It’s always been about the elite 10%.
MLB should insist in the new agreement that all guaranteed contract money is forfeited during a lockout. Then we would see how fast the MLBPA comes to an agreement.
That would be illegal.
They are only NOW going to meet more frequently?…they should have been meeting daily since the second week of January to knock this out. All egos need to be checked at the front door !! GETTER DONE !!!!! WE WANT BASEBALL !!!!!
So, instead of meeting once a month, they will now meet twice a month.
I’ll bet if the players weren’t getting guaranteed contract money during a lockout, they would look to meet more often.
This is on the owners though.
On full display for all to see, what it looks like when billionaires fight with millionaires. Imagine if you will this was “Amanda” that worked at Walmart. Single parent mom with 2 kids. Locked out of her job over disputes and doesn’t get paid. No new Jordans for her teenager. No new PS5 for the the little ones birthday. Ohh and she is still figuring out how to gas up the car at $3.50 a gallon to do drop of and pickup from school. This is the reality most Americans face each day. Results of weak poor leadership in the country with no accountability. Finally going to meet each day? Will it be longer than 15 minutes? The highest paid is not always the best leader.
Bran, Fiber and Dulcolax will help the season get regular.
At Least Bobby Banilla is getting paid until 2035.
Many here keep repeating @ the owners locked them out “ but you don’t understand why! Boras essentially runs the union. The owners are tired of his posturing. You want to get someone’s attention then throw out a roadblock… they did! The players want more money; seriously? Soto turns down 13 yr $350 million why? Because the agents say “ not enough “ to hit a baseball! The owners run the business not the agents and these players are agent- brainwashed.
“MLB and the MLBPA are planning to conduct multiple bargaining sessions next week, perhaps meeting every day. “
Well there an idea. Should have started that back in December!
beanball – Neither side cares about a shortened spring training. Players don’t like ST and don’t get paid, and owners don’t get much revenue. That’s why I kinda LOL’d at those who predicted a CBA prior to the originally scheduled start of ST.
Expanded playoffs are a pure win for the Owners and among the best points of leverage for the players. No way they just give that up. It’s crunch time coming. Neither side did a good job in their opening offers, although the Owners asked for more. Now, they can either decide that getting back on the field will benefit both, or they can take a scorched earth approach. I’m betting the Owners go scorched earth.
mike – Expanded postseason benefits more players too, that’s why the MLBPA didn’t put up any resistance whatsoever.
Two more postseason spots means 52 more players sharing in 50-60% of the gate for their postseason games.
Sure the owners benefit more, but still there was a snowball’s chance of the players rejecting the expansion.
Union tentatively agreed to 2 extra teams, not four, being aware it’s a leverage point. 52 players earning a bit more is not at the same threshold as things like CBT caps and penalties, ML minimums, etc. The players know it.
Mike – Absolutely it’s a leverage point, no sense in going straight from 10 to 14 when they can “concede” from 12 to 14 later on, which they absolutely will.
Anything the players can gain without much required is a win for them. I don’t think any player wouldn’t want to play one or two extra games for a nice bonus pay and the opportunity to be on a big stage.
MLBPA you’ve asked for the moon. Be prepared for consequences. NON-TENDER!
In my experience this has been more civil and showing more progression than MLB labor disputes in the past. It is a question if they can resolve a couple of sticking points. I can’t remember the second one but the first one is they were wide apart on the bonus pool money.
Neither side ever looks good in this. It’s the rich vs the mega rich. I want to see MiLB play a part in the CBA. rookies don’t need a raise, the players below do.
Right now, only the lucky few who make the majors get financially rewarded for years of living below the poverty line in the minors. Give the minor leaguers comfortable wages. Keep rookies at current salaries, which are plenty generous.
Think about how much more talent the game would attract if people knew they didn’t have to spend 5+ years making almost nothing in the minors. Heck, with the right wages, being lifetime minor leaguer alone would be a viable career choice.
But in the end, if you make minor league salary’s attractive, you get more people choosing the sport over others. More players, means a bigger pool of talent. Think about the great baseball players we’ve missed out on because they chose football or basketball in high school because baseball didn’t offer financial opportunities right out of school.
No high school aged boy is making his decision on which sport to play based on the potential salary of their potential future minor league career. They play the sports they love in high school and that’s that.
Very very few athletes coming out of college are good enough at two sports to the point that they have to choose between which to go pro in and even fewer of them are equally good enough at both sports to the extent that there’s an actual dilemma.
I’m all for paying minor leaguers more money, but that alone isn’t going to increase the quality of talent in any major way.
Not to mention, pretty much anyone drafted and signed will have made more than the average citizen makes in 10 years…without ever having played an inning of pro ball.
not true if you drafted in early rounds probably but anything halfway through the draft you are making maybe 2 or 3 years of the average us citizen salary which is around 50k a year. This is also before they shortened it where there was like 80 rounds in the draft.
THEN FIGURE IT THE HELL OUT BOB!
Honestly, it’s about time the players found a stick the owners care about enough that they might induce them to change their demands by more than 2% per iteration. Plus, I’d be ok with another 10-team playoffs season. Part of what’s made the playoffs special in baseball is that less than half of the teams in the sport get to go.
Yes, exactly. It also makes it more competitive during the regular season instead of having two sub-500 teams make it and screw other teams’ chances.
@hyrax I agree with you, I don’t like more playoff teams. As a White Sox fan, all that does is allow cheap owners like JR to be even more cheap… rather than fielding the best team possible and fixing their weaknesses like we’ve hoped, instead it would encourage more of the same. Wish and hope, because “anything can happen” if you make the playoffs. This is true, a team like the Braves does win every once in a while while being far from the best team, but it does not happen very often. I sure hope the Sox make some upgrades if/when there is a season. Hoping the Blue Jays wind up in the AL Central, that would force Reinsdorf to do something. They are not a better team than Toronto as it stands now, so Jerry would be forced to get a real 2b at minimum if he wants playoff revenue.
MLBTR:
Since most of the discussions revolves around who most people believe is at fault, why not take a poll and just let people express their frustration through a vote on the group they believe is responsible for the bad faith negotiation:
Owners
Players
Both
See how the MLBTR crowd shakes out?
Both.
The only way any of this makes sense to me is if one of Manfreds friends bet him 100 bucks that he can’t eff things up worse than 1994.
He literally has a blueprint of what “not” to do and he’s steering the school bus into the same ditch.
Narrator: It won’t happen.
Tony Clark is basically Scott Boras’s puppet, and the owners know it. The “Negotiations” are exactly how Boras’s usually handles contracts.Delay to get maximum value for his clients. If the season would have started you could have expected a strike in August.
Correct which is why the owners had to do the lockout and it won’t end until a CBA is done.
100%. It explains all of the piss and vinegar. NYT’s Michael Schmidt said as much on his Twitter account: “The owners are increasingly convinced Tony Clark and Bruce Meyer have had their power neutered and that owners are actually negotiating against the hidden hand of the game’s top agent Scott Boras”.
Boras is not concerned about the game, the players, their families, and certainly not the fans. He’s concerned about his bank account, his client’s bank accounts, and he needs to get the eff out of negotiations.
Sometimes I think they seem to forget we can live without Baseball.
When they played the short season, traveling around the country while the rest of us were in lock down mode and out of work, I didn’t watch one single pitch.
I can do it again.
Anyone saying the owners should end the lockout doesn’t understand why they owners did it in the first place. Without the lockout there is no need to get a CBA done and the players are allowed to strike. Do we really want to see a repeat of 1994? The owners should Increase first year pay to 650K, offer arbitration after 2 years., FA at 5 years, get 12 team playoffs and just 2 divisions per league. The main issue with MLB is that the owners don’t work for the good of the game. If they did there would be 100% revenue sharing so you could have a cap and level the playing. Then you could have a max cap and a minimum cap to end the tanking. The rest of the issues are minor. Unfortunately there is no way a cap is going to get set based on the owners not wanting to share and the players not wanting a cap in the first place. Oh well I will stick with the season starting 5/1 and having a 130 game season and same playoff setup this year. is the most likely scenario
‘Without this Lockout Work Stoppage, we’d get a Strike Work Stoppage, and that would be bad’. Pretty dumb logic right there.
A Lockout, gives the owners leverage now, a Strike would give the players leverage later. So the owners act first, to get the upper hand. Other than that, there is no difference.
there is a big difference. Unless you don’t realize how starting a season and then having a strike hurts baseball more. Then having a lockout and delaying the season
How is it dumb logic to lockout now rather than suffering an inevitable player strike in August/September/October that ruins the playoffs? You should be thanking them frankly.
The MLBPA dropped the request for arbitration after two seasons. Five year free agency isn’t necessarily bad as it is what the NFL and NBA does, though provisions to that would have to be made since players in those sports generally go right onto the pro roster out of the draft, which is not usually the case in MLB.
They will never go back to the two division format. Next round of expansion will go to four four team divisions.
Strike or lockout is literally half a dozen of one/six of the other. A work stoppage is a work stoppage and looks bad regardless of how it happened
There is still a lot of heavy lifting to do after the lockout ends. Still well over 100+ free agents, arbitration hearings and negotiations plus contract renewals.
In 1990 when the owners locked out the players in February and settled on a new CBA in March the season was still delayed 2 weeks, and that was with all the shopping done and the groceries put away…
The owners have made plenty of concessions and it’s time for the players to sign a contract. You really have to love unions. Smdh. What will it take for fans to wake up and finally be fed up with it all and walk away?
It’s millionaires arguing with billionaires, I think maybe my consumer dollars can go elsewhere and I can stop contributing to the machine that could care less about me. Maybe wisdom comes with age, but it’s become very clear to me now that they are arguing about how much of my money they get…and have nothing to offer me in this in return. Ticket prices aren’t going down people.
Its one thing if you are a car company and your wealth is tied to that car company, it’s completely different when you own a MLB team and you bought that team BECAUSE your already wealthy. MLB owners wealth is not tied to the teams they own, in most cases. If it was me, I would say, “you want to play stupid, negotiations are off the table, accept this or accept jobs as high school gym teachers”
Imagine there’s a crowd full of people in a theater waiting to see a play and they’ve been waiting for hours now, and they can hear the playwright and the actors yelling at each other from backstage about how much money each of them get from the ticket sales.
That’s what’s happening right now.
Dear owners and players,
You may own the teams and play the games, but you don’t own baseball itself. The fact that you’re making all of America and the world wait on you to watch baseball while each of you tries to get more money for yourselves is supremely arrogant, inconsiderate, and selfish. Make some compromises and play baseball.
Why wasn’t ‘meeting more frequently” already happening? As in, shouldn’t they be meeting pretty much every day? It’s pretty simple to do virtually and all.
They should be meeting everyday but they are not abc the fans should institute a deadline. I am already fed up enough to not go to any games this year.
Milb is much cheaper and just as fun. Not to mention that you are watching the future stars of the game, who will, hopefully, learn from the mistakes of the current stars and be prepared to take CBA negotiations a bit more seriously when it is their turn.
I loved quarter beer night in augusta. I even saw a bit of the game i was at from time to time. Wish i could remember the name of the catcher who gave me the bat he hit a hr with. He cracked the bat and still got the hr.
If I were the Owners I’d be willing to unlock the players from Spring Training with the stipulation that there would be daily meetings between the two sides up to the beginning of the regular season. If both sides haven’t worked out an agreement by that date both sides would have to agree on a 3rd party arbitration.
Man, I absolutely hate not swearing when I feel like swearing.
So understand how much it hurts to say, F the owners.
The players need the fans to rally.
Cancel your subscriptions and ticket plans. Bombard the league offices with angry letters, emails, twitter and facebook trash talk. The owners are the “MLB”. Manfred is a puppet.
Stop buying merchandise. Stop buying the video games. Set up fan protests against the owners at the stadiums and invite the local news media.
Crank up OUR pressure. The owners are just threatening the players with losing short term money if the season doesn’t start on time. They are trying to squeeze them. The owners are the bad guys. Get that through your helmets.
I never understand how people can side with the owners. To start, the average salary in the MLB is $4.17M, which makes is sound like all these guys are loaded, but when you look further, the median is $1.1M, meaning a fair number of these players are not millionaires when you couple that with the average career is 3 years, which again is heavily distorted by it being an average with players win long careers driving up the average. A majority of the players probably only get a year or 2, if they even get that.
The owners are billionaires. They don’t need the MLB teams to pay the bills and if they need to, they will lay off everyone deemed non-essential to the team, like they did during the Covid shutdown.
The fans get a say in all this win their wallets. Stop going to games, stop watching it on TV, stop buying merchandise, but they won’t, so get what you pay for, literally.
Even if the lockout were to end by the end of February, I still do not see how the regular season could start on time. Spring training is usually six weeks. R.M. said they could do a four week spring training. That will lead to a dramatic increase in Tommy John procedures and other injuries. Also, don’t forget that many free agents have to be signed. Are teams going to have a week to ten days to sign players or are they going to start spring training right away without them? Even if this ends by the end of February, the regular season shouldn’t start before April fifteenth.
Baseball needs to go to an NFL-type of system where only a portion of each contract is guaranteed. And for those with reading comprehension issues, notice I said “NFL-type.”
Unproductive players on long-term deals for large amounts of money are hamstringing other, more productive, players from getting paid. Union doesn’t seem to care about that much.
Example: If the Mets and Yankees could let go of Cano and Britton, respectively, for a fraction of their guaranteed $, I’m sure they’d do it and allocate that payroll space to other players. Union wants it both ways. Sorry, not if I was an owner
So you arm chair lawyers and union busters keep having a dickpull about who knows what. Who cares.
After I fire Clark and take over negoatiations I simply tell the owners here is what we want and nothing is negotiable. The last 2 CBA’s the players have given the most.
So!
1. DH both leagues.
2. Rosters at 28,
3.Base salary minimum Majors 500,000 (good for 1 season – then war type stats include bonuses to push salary past 500,000)L. AAA=200,000, AA – 150,000 – A -100,000
4..Max contract length 5 years.
5. Salary cap – 120,000,000 max and 90,000,000 minimum.
6. 8 teams per league in playoffs. Division winners and 5 teams with the best record.
7. MLB will take back all ticketing and install butt chips in all seats. If the season ticket holder sells the ticket and the butt chip denotes a stranger – ticket owner pays surcharge.
8. All beer prices, including craft will be capped at $5 per 32 oz. cup.
9. Instant replay – all parks will develop a reply office that will be staffed by 3 Umpires and appropriate video techs. Goal is all replays complete in 20 seconds – anything past 20 seconds reverts to onfield call. Umpires will not call for replays.
10. Managers can argue ANY call including replay.
11. Umpires will be fined $1,000 a call for any incorrect pitch.
12. Yankees will need to wear depends when playing Boston.
13. Rob Manfred will go to every park and man the dunk tank for the entire game.