Posted on 12/02/2021 2:54:52 AM PST by NautiNurse
Major League Baseball team owners have locked out the players in a battle over the game’s future economic structure, initiating the sport’s first work stoppage since the strike that resulted in the cancelation of the 1994 World Series.
[snip]
A large point of contention is the competitive landscape, particularly the rise of “tanking”–a radical rebuilding strategy in which teams intentionally make their rosters worse to save money and acquire draft picks for the future. This approach, coupled with an increased reliance on data analytics, caused a squeeze on some veteran free agents, inspiring the players’ frustration.
[snip]
Management argues that the players receive a fair share of the game’s overall revenues and have balked at any proposal that involves increasing their take. Rather, the league sees the issue as one of wealth distribution: that a small number of highly rewarded superstars command a disproportionate amount of the money allocated to players...
[snip]
Clearly, baseball as a whole isn’t facing existential financial distress. Teams have already spent nearly $2 billion on free agents this offseason, with the looming lockout causing a frenzied spending spree over the past week. Scherzer signed a three-year contract with the New York Mets that will net him $43.3 million per season, an all-time record that far surpasses New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole’s $36 million annually. Shortstop Corey Seager’s 10-year, $325 million with the Texas Rangers was the ninth deal ever to guarantee a player $300 million or more.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
It's not really tanking if they don't use it to stockpile draft picks and prospects in order to try to win. "Tanking" for 30 years is really just sucking.
Thanks for the stats. I’m willing to work for the minimum wage!
This time, owners might hold the cards. As long as they are willing to shut down 2022 season over it. Marginal teams like Pirates, Royals, A's would rather have no deal than to take a bad deal with the players' union.
You would like to think so. In this day or so many choices for sports snd entertainment, MLB risks driving away more fans.
It might be interesting to open the books....I suspect there’s only ten clubs (Dodgers, Yanks, Red Sox, Braves...among them) that generate enough to be in the ‘high-group’. There’s probably five or six at the bottom....where there’s no real profit under the Covid era. The rest are in some middle-ground where they carry a carefully planned budget.
This affected my NJ Devils directly in a couple of ways after the 2012 season. First, they lost one of their best players (Zach Parise) as a free agent because he anticipated a lockout in 2012-2013 and demanded a huge signing bonus up front to minimize its impact on him (the team was in financial distress and couldn’t come up with $10M+ cash up front for a signing bonus). Then, star Ilya Kovalchuk retired unexpectedly after the shortened 2012-13 season, just three years into his huge 15-year, $100 million contract. The 2012-13 lockout was one of the main reasons he left the NHL while he was still in his prime.
They will work it out by Febuary.
What makes free agency so destructive for many fans is that it disrupts the continuity of team rosters and makes it impossible for fans to get attached to their favorite teams when the rosters change so much from year to year. Look at a typical pro athlete who retires today and notice how many different teams he’s played for over the course of his career. It’s gotten ludicrous for many of these guys.
Truism of the day!
Heard about a lockout by the MLB owners but not a strike. Please, elaborate on the strike of which you speak.
Does this mean no Spring Training as usual in March 2022?
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