There were a number of articles in The Athletic today about baseball. They were all painting a depressing picture of the future of baseball because of the inability to come to an agreement on a shortened season for the 2020 season. They claim that the current disagreement is just the first shot fired in the coming war over the new owner's and player's collective bargaining agreement due at the conclusion of the 2021 season.
While they claim that the players share some blame the majority of the blame falls on the shoulders of the owners. I think that the following excerpts from Joe Posnanski's article sums up the prevailing opinion of the other writers:
Blame the players, if you must. Screaming about the players seems to bring joy to some and we should find joy wherever we can these days. But this one seems as clear as day: The owners are being asked in these extraordinary times to spend money so that there might be baseball. After the billions and billions and billions of dollars that fans and citizens have given them over the years — and the promise of so much more in the years ahead — it seems like such a small price to pay.
But it seems even a small price is too much to ask from these owners. They seem willing to drive their game over a cliff in order to win financial concessions. They seem willing to crush the spirit of baseball fans everywhere in order to cut their losses. “It’s just a disaster for our game, absolutely no question about it,” says Commissioner Manfred, who works for the owners. “It shouldn’t be happening.”
No, of course it shouldn’t be happening.
While they claim that the players share some blame the majority of the blame falls on the shoulders of the owners. I think that the following excerpts from Joe Posnanski's article sums up the prevailing opinion of the other writers:
Blame the players, if you must. Screaming about the players seems to bring joy to some and we should find joy wherever we can these days. But this one seems as clear as day: The owners are being asked in these extraordinary times to spend money so that there might be baseball. After the billions and billions and billions of dollars that fans and citizens have given them over the years — and the promise of so much more in the years ahead — it seems like such a small price to pay.
But it seems even a small price is too much to ask from these owners. They seem willing to drive their game over a cliff in order to win financial concessions. They seem willing to crush the spirit of baseball fans everywhere in order to cut their losses. “It’s just a disaster for our game, absolutely no question about it,” says Commissioner Manfred, who works for the owners. “It shouldn’t be happening.”
No, of course it shouldn’t be happening.
