Ulp! There is some question now whether a new agreement can be reached by December 1. One source is using the phrase "lock out."
http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/labo ... all-112216
The suggestion also is that winter meetings may not include that all important signing and trade news that helps stitch the end of one baseball season to the beginning of the next.
CBA
Moderators: SammyKhalifa, Doc, Bobster
-
fjk090852-7
- Posts: 3495
- Joined: Sun Jul 03, 2016 2:52 pm
CBA
I cannot understand why the players are not in favor of an International Draft. If there are signing restrictions on International Players I would assume that provides owners with additional funds to pay MLB Free Agents. I would think a MLB player with several years of experience would be somewhat annoyed when a player from a foreign country gets a huge bonus and he has never played one game of MLB.
-
Leyland1948
CBA
I was hoping against hope that this agreement would include some revenue sharing or a salary floor for teams. Certainly does not sound like it. Same old story, small market teams are limited and the rest throw money around like there is no tomorrow thus driving salaried even higher!
CBA
I remember from a few years ago the players association being adamantly opposed to a minimum salary floor, with the explanation being that it was a first step to a salary ceiling, which they definitely did not want. It is really hard to decipher what each side actually wants and how they figure each change either forwards that or threatens it.
-
SammyKhalifa
- Posts: 3631
- Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2016 4:19 am
CBA
At this point I'd view lockout talk as empty threats.
CBA
I agree...I don't think there will be a lockout, but it is really frustrating. I have always maintained that the economics of baseball are completely out of whack. Please don't misunderstand. This isn't me taking the side of owners. I really don't have a dog in the fight between players and ownership. Here's where I have a dog in the fight:
1. The fans...the fans are always the ones getting screwed, it seems to me. Higher salaries mean higher ticket prices, higher cable/satellite TV costs, higher concession costs, everything. MLB is slowly but surely pricing the average fan out of games.
2. The competitive factor...yes, MLB has a great deal of parity right now, but the fact remains that it is exponentially easier to win with a high payroll...not because you can afford to buy better players (though that certainly helps), but because you can afford to make more mistakes. Look at the Cubs...few people will argue that the Heyward contract was a mistake. He stunk for them this year. But, given their payroll and market size, they could afford to make such a mistake. If the Pirates offered a contract like that to a player like Heyward and it bombed, it would handcuff them for the life of the contract, maybe longer.
Do I think it is unjust that someone will make more money in a year than many people will see in a lifetime simply because he can throw a baseball 95 mph? Yes, I do. Do I think it is unjust that someone makes over half a MILLION dollars to do nothing but sit on the bench for an MLB team? Yes, I do. But, I realize that isn't going anywhere, so I live with it. I just wish these guys (players, owners, everyone) would realize that they have a life 99.999% of people would love to have. What kills me, and kills most average fans, is how fortunate these guys are and they don't realize it.
1. The fans...the fans are always the ones getting screwed, it seems to me. Higher salaries mean higher ticket prices, higher cable/satellite TV costs, higher concession costs, everything. MLB is slowly but surely pricing the average fan out of games.
2. The competitive factor...yes, MLB has a great deal of parity right now, but the fact remains that it is exponentially easier to win with a high payroll...not because you can afford to buy better players (though that certainly helps), but because you can afford to make more mistakes. Look at the Cubs...few people will argue that the Heyward contract was a mistake. He stunk for them this year. But, given their payroll and market size, they could afford to make such a mistake. If the Pirates offered a contract like that to a player like Heyward and it bombed, it would handcuff them for the life of the contract, maybe longer.
Do I think it is unjust that someone will make more money in a year than many people will see in a lifetime simply because he can throw a baseball 95 mph? Yes, I do. Do I think it is unjust that someone makes over half a MILLION dollars to do nothing but sit on the bench for an MLB team? Yes, I do. But, I realize that isn't going anywhere, so I live with it. I just wish these guys (players, owners, everyone) would realize that they have a life 99.999% of people would love to have. What kills me, and kills most average fans, is how fortunate these guys are and they don't realize it.
-
SammyKhalifa
- Posts: 3631
- Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2016 4:19 am
CBA
Oh, I agree. And besides the normal salary issues, this draft and esp broadcasting agreements need to change.
CBA
434B487F694C6B640A0 wrote: I agree...I don't think there will be a lockout, but it is really frustrating. I have always maintained that the economics of baseball are completely out of whack. Please don't misunderstand. This isn't me taking the side of owners. I really don't have a dog in the fight between players and ownership. Here's where I have a dog in the fight:
1. The fans...the fans are always the ones getting screwed, it seems to me. Higher salaries mean higher ticket prices, higher cable/satellite TV costs, higher concession costs, everything. MLB is slowly but surely pricing the average fan out of games.
2. The competitive factor...yes, MLB has a great deal of parity right now, but the fact remains that it is exponentially easier to win with a high payroll...not because you can afford to buy better players (though that certainly helps), but because you can afford to make more mistakes. Look at the Cubs...few people will argue that the Heyward contract was a mistake. He stunk for them this year. But, given their payroll and market size, they could afford to make such a mistake. If the Pirates offered a contract like that to a player like Heyward and it bombed, it would handcuff them for the life of the contract, maybe longer.
Do I think it is unjust that someone will make more money in a year than many people will see in a lifetime simply because he can throw a baseball 95 mph? Yes, I do. Do I think it is unjust that someone makes over half a MILLION dollars to do nothing but sit on the bench for an MLB team? Yes, I do. But, I realize that isn't going anywhere, so I live with it. I just wish these guys (players, owners, everyone) would realize that they have a life 99.999% of people would love to have. What kills me, and kills most average fans, is how fortunate these guys are and they don't realize it.
I think the players do realize they have lives that most fans would kill to duplicate. But they also know that for many of them that life only exists for a cup of coffee in big leagues. For others it can end at any time because of injury. The average major league career is less than 5 years. I don't know what percentage ever get a million dollar contract but it is probably not as high as we expect.
For what its worth, people were saying the same thing about players by 1970. Remember the animosity that went towards Dave Parker and his huge (for the time contract).
1. The fans...the fans are always the ones getting screwed, it seems to me. Higher salaries mean higher ticket prices, higher cable/satellite TV costs, higher concession costs, everything. MLB is slowly but surely pricing the average fan out of games.
2. The competitive factor...yes, MLB has a great deal of parity right now, but the fact remains that it is exponentially easier to win with a high payroll...not because you can afford to buy better players (though that certainly helps), but because you can afford to make more mistakes. Look at the Cubs...few people will argue that the Heyward contract was a mistake. He stunk for them this year. But, given their payroll and market size, they could afford to make such a mistake. If the Pirates offered a contract like that to a player like Heyward and it bombed, it would handcuff them for the life of the contract, maybe longer.
Do I think it is unjust that someone will make more money in a year than many people will see in a lifetime simply because he can throw a baseball 95 mph? Yes, I do. Do I think it is unjust that someone makes over half a MILLION dollars to do nothing but sit on the bench for an MLB team? Yes, I do. But, I realize that isn't going anywhere, so I live with it. I just wish these guys (players, owners, everyone) would realize that they have a life 99.999% of people would love to have. What kills me, and kills most average fans, is how fortunate these guys are and they don't realize it.
I think the players do realize they have lives that most fans would kill to duplicate. But they also know that for many of them that life only exists for a cup of coffee in big leagues. For others it can end at any time because of injury. The average major league career is less than 5 years. I don't know what percentage ever get a million dollar contract but it is probably not as high as we expect.
For what its worth, people were saying the same thing about players by 1970. Remember the animosity that went towards Dave Parker and his huge (for the time contract).
CBA
44767A7A6E5C7F767B7E7176170 wrote: At this point I'd view lockout talk as empty threats.
I don't know. I wouldn't underestimate the stubbornness of owners. The latest CBAs for the NFL, NBA and NHL were all the results of lockouts. And I'm sure that the MLB owners have looked at how the NFL and NHL came out with pretty owner friendly contracts.
I think players realize that they have a very rare skill set (even bench players) that owners are willing to pay a lot of money to employ in order for the owners to make even more money. No different from top bond traders, commercial real estate brokers etc.
Good for the players. Capitalism is based on knowing your value.
I don't know. I wouldn't underestimate the stubbornness of owners. The latest CBAs for the NFL, NBA and NHL were all the results of lockouts. And I'm sure that the MLB owners have looked at how the NFL and NHL came out with pretty owner friendly contracts.
I think players realize that they have a very rare skill set (even bench players) that owners are willing to pay a lot of money to employ in order for the owners to make even more money. No different from top bond traders, commercial real estate brokers etc.
Good for the players. Capitalism is based on knowing your value.