March 3rd, 2022 at 8:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka For those old enough to remember, there was an ad campaign back in the late ’70s and early 80s by a brokerage firm that was both very popular and very funny; so popular, in fact, that everybody knew their schtick:
“When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen.”
Thirty-year-old Future Hall of Fame outfielder Mike Trout rarely talks, but when he does, people better listen.
On Wednesday morning, the Vineland, New Jersey native and first-round draft pick in 2009 by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim talked.
…sort of.
He posted this on Twitter:
(Photo credit – Adam Glanzman)
As every baseball fan knows, negotiations between Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association ended (very) early Tuesday morning without a new Collective Bargaining Agreement in place. In fact, at the time, it was reported that no additional talks would take place, and the (as of today) 92-day MLB lockout continues. Since then, it has been reported that talks will resume in New York, although no date or time has been set. However, Manfred has already cancelled the first two series of the 2022 regular season.
During a Wednesday morning interview with Sportsnet‘s Shi Davidi and Ben Nicholson-Smith, former Dodger and now Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Ross Stripling let it fly when asked about the union’s unanimous decision to reject MLB’s so called ‘Best and Final Offer‘ (BAFO).
“It was an easy no, man, because, we felt like we were giving them a fair offer and they just didn’t budge on it this whole time,” Stripling told the pair. “Since Dallas in December (when the lockout was implemented), they’ve just hardly budged at all.
“The owners were torn in some regards,” Stripling added. “There are some teams that really didn’t want the (Competitive Balance Tax) to go up. There are some owners that just weren’t on the same page, so we’re fighting that when they’re fighting each other. And we held steadfast on what we believed in. We think it’s reasonable.”
Are you listening, Rob Manfred? If you do not do the right thing, right here, right now, you will lose baseball fans forever.
Play Ball!
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UPDATE:
Per MLB Trade Rumors, MLB Deputy commissioner Dan Halem and MLBPA lead negotiator Bruce Meyer are expected to meet today (Thursday) for an “informal” one-on-one sit-down meeting in New York.
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@Dodgers 100% agreed! Well said.
Drop some money droppin all this money
From what I have read and heard about these negotiations, I am not thrilled with Rob Manfred and the owners, but the union negotiators share in some responsibility (perhaps MLB 70%, union 30% as an arbitrary split). At least it seems that the union was not interested in reaching agreement until after the CBA expiration date (Dec. 1, 2021) when they would have had the weapon of economic strike. Trout, and other players, are critical of the management lockout for one reason — it took away their strike weapon which they used in 1994 to shutdown MLB including World Series. Players contractually agree not to strike in 2022 and the owners would likely agree to end the lockout and continue to bargain — not going to happen as the players will never give up the right to an economic strike.
The upsetting thing is that neither side, in spite of what they may say, gives a damn about the fans.
As Buster Olney noted early Friday morning, the damage is irreparable and will result in some fans NEVER coming back.
Agree with you 100%