MLB Owners Shoot Down MLBPA Proposal and REFUSE to Send Counter-Offer!

In a move that surprised no one, the MLB Owners denied the 114 game proposal sent by the players that included pro-rated salaries. What may be a bit surprising is that the owners also said that they will not send a counter-offer! This is certainly bad news, and another indicator that a 2020 MLB Season is becoming more and more unlikely.

Rumors have indicated that the owners would prefer a much shorter season that will end around late September as to avoid any possible “second wave” of the coronavirus. This seems logical but may require a season as short as 50 games. In my opinion, there are actually some pros to such a short season (as a one time thing!):

• Every team, including the Marlins, Giants, Mariners and Orioles, has a chance to get hot for a few weeks and make the playoffs

• The season will hit the ground running and every game will be huge

• There will be a higher probability of finishing the season without any player or MLB employee getting infected, causing an early shutdown

• If there is a second wave of the coronavirus, it may be avoided

These are advantages for the owners and fans, but do the players care? They would not get paid more for less games, and may not care about the possibility of sneaking into the playoffs as an underdog. Most MLB players are confident and don’t go around thinking that their team has "no chance”… so, perhaps there is little about a shorter season that would appeal to them. This is evidenced by their 114 game proposal — they want to play as many games as possible.

All in all, things do not look good for baseball in 2020…. and keep in mind, even if these two sides do come to an agreement, there are several other hoops to jump through in order to get a season going. I hope I’m wrong, but I believe it will be a long time before we see some meaningful baseball.

Prediction: There Won't Be a 2020 MLB Season

It’s time to admit the truth: there likely will not be an MLB Season in 2020. There are just too many obstacles in the way, including the ongoing dispute between the Major League Baseball Player’s Association and the MLB Owners. This is just one hurdle, however. Even if they are to come to an agreement (which is not a guarantee — see 1994), there are also so many other factors including, but not limited to…

• Making sure all the players, coaches, umpires, and every employee involved are able to get constant testing throughout the season.

• Finding places to play when there are still many cities and states that have strict laws on public gatherings (even without fans it would still be a fairly large public gathering)

• Dealing with the public scrutiny of using up resources needed for others in order to play a game

• Finding a way to play a semi-normal baseball game while trying to comply with social distancing laws

These are just some of the many obstacles that may stop a 2020 MLB Season from happening and in my opinion, they will be more than enough. This prediction has nothing to do with what I want to happen or what I think should happen. I want nothing more than an MLB season, even if it is a little weird. I love baseball more than anything else and cannot imagine the toll it would take not having it for an entire year or more. However, as said, there are just simply too many obstacles in the way.

As for a Minor League Season, it is all but guaranteed to be cancelled. Well, on the bright side, I guess that means the Sacramento River Cats get to be reigning Triple A Champions for another year.

New MLB Proposal Has All Teams Playing In Their Own Stadiums... But Still No Fans.

The proposals began almost immediately after Spring Training stopped. MLB owners and executives are desperate to bring back Major League Baseball into people’s homes so that some type of revenue can start being generated. However, thus far, every proposal has been met with extreme challenges that proved too much to overcome.

First, there was the Arizona plan… then the Arizona/Florida plan… then the Arizona/Texas/Florida plan… and now it’s the 3-Division plan. In this plan, there would be 3 separate divisions of ten teams each, with each team playing in their own ballpark. The plan surfaced through a report by Bob Nightengale of USA Today, who said that MLB officials are “cautiously optimistic” that the season will start in late June, and no later than July 2, playing at least 100 regular season games. This plan would not include fans and the ten teams in each division would only play among themselves.

Of course, nothing can happen until medical experts agree that it is safe and widespread testing is available. Also, even with the 10 teams in each division only traveling to teams within their own division, there will still be plenty of travel. Under the current proposed divisions, teams like the San Francisco Giants would be traveling to places like Houston and Arlington, while the Yankees would travel to Miami. To further complicate matters, the plan calls for an abbreviate Spring Training in each teams’ Spring Training Complex. This would require even more moving around for the players and personnel.

What also must be taken into account is the fact that these games would be televised. Therefore, the amount of people at each game, even without fans, would easily be in the several hundreds. Think of the cameramen, reporters, producers, coaches, extended rosters, umpires, network personnel, announcers, clubhouse assistants, trainers, etc etc… and this would be in multiple states during a pandemic. The governors of these states would have to approve the plan and MLB would have to be prepared for the backlash it might receive from the general public, who, believe it or not, are not all baseball fans. Unless the social climate improved tenfold within the next 30 days, this plan simply feels impossible.