June 14th, 2020 at 8:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka Last Wednesday, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred boldly proclaimed, “We’re going to play baseball in 2020 – 100 percent.”
…and we are.
That’s the good news.
The bad news is that the 2020 MLB season is about to begin amidst the (near) 100 percent objection of the MLB Players Association.
Late Saturday afternoon, after a week of angry proposal exchanges between the two factions, MLBPA executive director Tony Clark tossed it the proverbial towel and agreed to begin the 2020 season, albeit under protest.
“It unfortunately appears that further dialogue with the league would be futile,” Clark said in a written statement. “It’s time to get back to work. Tell us when and where.”
That getting back to work thing comes as a direct result of a March 26, 2020, Collective Bargaining Agreement between MLB and the MLBPA in which the commissioner of baseball was given the exclusive right to dictate when baseball would resume and how many games would be played in a COVID-19-shortened season. The stickling point, at least from the union’s standpoint, is the amount of prorated pay the players would receive and the union’s desire to play upwards of 89 games and have an expanded postseason; this because players receive a percentage of the gate receipts during postseason play.
Here is Clark’s statement in its entirety:
Within an hour, MLB released a rebuttal statement indicating their disappointment in the union’s decision to terminate “good faith” negotiations and that they would be discussing with team owners plans to resume the 2020 season per the March 26 CBA:
If it sounds to you like MLB and the MLBPA are airing out their dirty laundry in public (via social media), you would be correct.
Ironically, within minutes of the MLBPA statement being released, several players posted on Twitter that they were ready to play, including Dodgers utility infielder/outfielder Kiké Hernandez and utility infielder Edwin Rios:
(Photo credit – Carrie Giordano)
Another thing to consider is that as it stands right now, players have the right not to show up when play resumes if they feel that doing would be a health risk for them and their families due to the coronavirus. And though it has been widely reported that MLB and the MLBPA have been working on details in this regard, to what end remains to be seen.
For you bottom-line types, baseball is about to return, possibly on or around the Fourth of July.
For you read-between-the-line types, it will undoubtedly be a very short (50-ish-game) season, without an expanded postseason.
Play Ball!
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Yeah, but when and where do the fans get to show up? I’m fortunate to have Spectrum Sportsnet LA; does that mean every game will be shown on KTLA for those who don’t?
Good news, but it’s bittersweet at this point. The nation’s on fire and I’ve never seen such societal, hard-line division running along so many political fronts. We could use a little unity as a nation right about now.
[…] (and highly unlikely) strike by the players, it appears that the 2020 MLB season will soon begin, albeit a short 2020 MLB […]
Does anyone really care?
I care, if but anything to just take our minds off the 24 hour, perpetually never-ending, news cycle. Baseball will bring people together if only for a few hours at a time.
“America . . . It’s been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt, and erased again. But baseball has marked the time . . . this game, it’s a part of our past . . . It reminds us of all that once was good, and it could be again.”