Many baseball fans are on the side of the players. After all, it is those “damn greedy owners” who are responsible. NOT SO FAST! I have some questions:
- How do the owners make their money?
- How do players make their money?
The owners make their money by playing games, selling tickets, and selling broadcasting rights to those games, and concessions. There are other ways, but that is substantially it.
The players make their money by playing and off of licensing. Their stock in trade is themselves. They don’t have to worry about stadiums, funding, ticket sales, negotiating TV contracts, and the like. They just try and play better.
Of course, that is an oversimplification of things, but it is basically true.
The Dodgers sell the most tickets. The Yankees make the most money. However, I do not believe the Dodgers will ever sign a single TV deal as big as they did with Time-Warner (long gone). Baseball is changing and the fans are changing. National TV, cable packages, TV rights, online games, Facebook, Amazon, ESPN, NBC, HBO, TBS, ABC, CBS, Paramount+, Disney, Nintendo, (whatever game format is popular), and a bunch of other ways we can not fathom. That is how fans will watch the games in the next few years. How does that impact revenue? No one knows!
The owners are the ones on the hook for all of this… not the players. There will likely never be another huge Time-Warner deal like the Dodgers pulled off. Attendance my go down. Other media may go up. I do not think anyone can predict for a certainty what happens next. If I were the owners, I would tell the MLBPA to pound sand! It’s their fortunes on the line, not the players.
If I were the owners, I would make the MLBPA one final (good faith) offer and give them 24 hours to accept or reject it. Next, I would tell any MLB player who has a valid contract that I would honor it, but they would have to agree within 48 hours. At the end of 48 hours, the offer would go out to all minor leaguers. “If you want to play in the Show, then be in training camp within 48 hours.”
I don’t care what you think. But you already know that! The owners have all the liability. If a fan gets killed by other ruffian fans, do they come after the players? NO! Do the players have to return money if they suck? No! Each player is only concerned with himself. An owner has to manage hundreds… maybe thousands of employees… concessions, insurance, health insurance, 401(k) Plans, and a host of other things associated with business… and they have to do it not knowing what is going to happen to ticket prices and cable payments… or the economy or whether there will be a World War!
I do not think the owners are angels, but this is about survival as a sport. If you want to play, show up. The season is starting on time. If you don’t like it, go play elsewhere. We are starting the season on time… with or without you.
I would play hardball.
Maybe it’s good I am not involved!
I want to see some damn baseball. I will not coddle these damn babies!
As a Dodger fan…
- I would be fine with Miguel Vargas at 1B over Max Muncy.
- Mike Busch over CT3.
- Eddys Leonard over Trea Turner.
- Brandon Lewis over Justin Turner
- Drew Avans over AJ Pollock
- James Outman over Cody Bellinger
- Andy Pages over Mookie Betts
- Diego Cartaya over Will Smith
Play Ball!
Disclaimer
I may not be 100% in favor of this, but a part of me feels this way. There are storms on the horizon related to TV deals and the way baseball moves forward. The owners are the ones on the hook for the assets involved. I just wanted to paint what it might look like on the other side. If the players want more, start another league! That might be interesting…
I’ve thought about this as well. Pretty hard to start another league without the stadiums to play in. It wouldn’t take too long for baseball to return to normal after the kids gets experience moving forward. I would also be more than happy to see a 100% home grown team compete for a few years against similar competition.
Most of what you said is true. The players have no risk compared to the owners. They have long and fully guaranteed contracts that other sports do not get. It’s reasonable that they make a little less in terms of minimum salary when their maximum salaries are so high. Go find another sport where a soon to be 38 year old signs a 3 year deal worth $43 million a year.
In better news, it looks like there’s at least a 50% chance they reach a deal today.
If they sign the deal on the table right now, they get increases in minimum salary and an increase to the CBT and more players with a chance to enter arbitration early. Anyway you look at it, that’s a huge win. For them to say they aren’t getting increases in line with inflation, I say “Welcome the club”.
Well said Bulldog.
And I appreciate Mark’s perspective as a business owner.
All the risk and liability is with the owners. Max Scherzer is gonna get his $43 million per year for the next three years even if he doesn’t pitch one game. In fact, he can claim he has a sore arm in a playoff elimination game and still get his $43 million per year!
Exactly how I feel!!
The Athletic lists Cody Bellinger as a Breakout Candidate:
Dodgers: Cody Bellinger, outfielder
About last season: .165, 10 home runs, 36 RBIs in 95 games (-1.5 bWAR)
He’s the only former MVP on this list (granted, there is a former Cy Young winner, too) and probably the most obvious candidate — perhaps in the sport — to bounce back from the depths he was in last year. It’s hard to see how Bellinger could’ve done worse during a season that never got off on the right foot – major right shoulder surgery delayed his start, then he broke his leg, and his swing got out of whack as he tried to make up for all of it. Quite simply, everything went wrong. He struck out more than ever. He stopped walking. He couldn’t hit the ball with any force despite putting the ball in the air as much as ever. Essentially any pitch with velocity in the upper part of the zone was a guaranteed whiff in some stretches.
His postseason heroics proved to be something of a salve; his key at-bats were some of the Dodgers’ best as they came within two wins of yet another World Series appearance. But even that version of him didn’t look like his old self.
Will Bellinger return to MVP form after being another year out from shoulder surgery? It’s hard to say – pop-up years were the case with Bellinger’s peak seasons (2017 and 2019), but even his previous floor would be a massive improvement. Take his 2018, for example – he hit 20 percent better than league average by OPS+, played stellar center-field defense, and was essentially a 4-win player. That’s something well worth the Dodgers’ decision to tender Bellinger a contract this past winter, and a big addition for a club that won 106 games last season despite the hole Bellinger left in their lineup.
Bellinger is a premium talent with only room to go up, so classifying him as a bounce-back candidate is a no-brainer.
Wasn’t there about 100 people on this site that wanted to trade him for a bag of peanuts last year?
Mark, agree on the Bellinger assessment. If he continues with his approach that he used at the end of the season and the playoffs. Expecting a huge year from Cody.
Mostly, disagree with your view in the opening post. But, understandable considering you’re a business owner. The comment “If a fan gets killed by other ruffian fans, do they come after the players?” might be overly dramatic. The owners hire people to do 99% of the things you listed. The owners agreed to pay the players guaranteed contracts.
Again, I understand your point of view on the subject. Neither party should be proud of the way they conduct themselves during the lockout.
Some progress was made. MLB has put a 5PM time for what they hope is an agreement. They have backed off of a couple things they wanted, 14 team expanded playoffs is dead. MLBPA agreed to 12. Team in each league with the best record will get a bye. A former teammate has said that Kershaw will either sign with the Rangers or retire. Of course, the teammate was not named. The losers in this is as always the fans. Amid the ongoing crisis in the Ukraine, soaring fuel and food costs, some venues of entertainment not fully up to speed, the one thing they could count on is not available to them unless they are watching college baseball. Mark, minor leaguers are in camp.
Hey, I don’t like either side.
There is a lot not to like.
Most MLB teams make money, but some probably don’t. Why is there a team in Miami, anyway? Look at their attendance figures.
Baseball should forget expansion. Too many poorly run franchises in cities that can’t support a successful team in today’s financial landscape. They won’t do it, but they should eliminate or move teams, like Miami, elsewhere. The NFL paid a boatload of money to get the Rams out of St. Louis.
Some ownership groups are aggressive, many aren’t. Some of those probably have no realistic chance of winning, unless the dominoes fall just right. But the grand old game is in trouble. Attendance is down, ticket prices up along with food, merchandise and parking. Honestly, it’s too slow. Time for a pitch clock and more action.
Imagine how much more everything will cost with inflation running amok.
Players are not worth what they’re paid in most cases. How many big contracts actually work out? How many times do teams sign a player to a mega contract only to regret it a short time later and attempt to unload it to gain flexibility. Obviously large market teams like the Dodgers can weather the financial storms better than a small market club. But look no further than Trevor Bauer. Paid a lot of money for what exactly? Players need to be held accountable. .MLB has still not addressed the issue, the Dodgers on the hook. Suspend him or let him play. Seems simple.
How many times has a team paid big dollars and a player shows up out of shape and doesn’t perform? Do you think Ned Colletti regrets signing a former Atlanta outfielder back in the day.
There is too much guaranteed money. Maybe pay should be based on performance and not projections, with smaller guarantees.
Okay, that would never happen. Big contracts, underperforming players a sign of the times.
As to the negotiations, they have certainly picked up steam. Why didn’t they do that a month or two ago?
Good write-up today, Mark. Way to keep stirring the pot to create discussion.
It was that way for oh so many years. Players salaries could be cut and they had to either accept them or find themselves without a place to play. That is why the reserve clause was thrown out. Players will never give up free agency. One thing this lockout has achieved beyond a shadow of a doubt. There are about 200 free agents out there. With most of the rosters close to or at 40, many will be forced to sign minor league deals, go to Japan, Korea, or Mexico, or sign for far less than they expected.
I have typically sided with the players more than the owners. But not so much this time. I am easily put off by MLB because of Manfred, who I dislike. But apparently he is being successful in the eyes of the owners.
I think we all knew that the players were destined to take a hard line this time having felt taken advantage of the last 2 negotiations. That’s not the best way to enter new negotiations for this agreement.
The one area of disagreement that I can’t understand is the “prearbitration bonus pool”. Here’s an area where the players want a 100 million pool and the owners 10 million. This pool is available to a small percentage of players with 3 years (or less) of service time, who have won specific awards or qualify with some formula based on WAR (or something).
I don’t understand or agree with ANY prearbitration pool. Agree on a minimum 750K, with yearly increases and call it a day. If a prearbitration player can’t get by on $750K per year for his first two or three years, he’d better check his lifestyle. These players will get their money when they get to arbitration. This issue should not be a roadblock in negotiations.
Excellent points Phil!
The two sides need to compromise and get a deal done today.
I would gladly sacrifice a month of the season if that meant Manfred would lose his job.
I have it from 2 reliable sources that it will be settled by Midnight
Time for new sources, Mark.
I don’t disagree with those who want to show their displeasure by boycotting, or not buying tickets, MLB.tv, hats, jerseys, etc.
I see it differently. I only boycotted the Dodgers once, (by not attending any games) during the end of the McCourt era. I was upset we let our stadium be over run by Raider fan types. I still watched, listened, bitched about, and texted about the Dodgers.
Now, I’ll still keep my season tickets; I’ll sell almost every game. I’ll attend the Opening Day, the All Star game events, and then October. I understand both sides are to blame. But it’s the same way with Amazon and its employees, Target and its employees, and In n Out and its employees. Let them settle their differences, and I’ll still shop there or eat there, because that’s what I want to do.
Bring baseball back, so I can watch spring games and go to Opening Day and NOT pay for a $20 beer!!
In N Out? That shocks me as they give their managers 50% of the net profit that store makes. They look at their store managers as partners rather than employees. If it isn’t that way anymore then they tried fixing a perfectly working watch that has made the Snyder family filthy rich by any standard. I am unaware of any disgruntled employees striking. From my small world.
I’m not the sort that spends much on watching baseball, mostly I can’t but if I could I wouldn’t. It’s just not important enough. It’s ran by people who’d charge a buck for a half peanut from the starving and their game is about nothing about you. They try to sell themselves in the color of goodness but Vin’s not around anymore and I don’t believe in the goodwill of these bastards. All’s they look for is a way to squeeze the last cent you have just to tell you to go to the soup line their running. It’s 4th street and I’m losing interest.
The owners also make a ton of money with amortization and appreciation.
Union rejected the deal. Players reps are leaving Florida.
Is everything in the world just broken?
The world has never, ever been at a higher pinnacle
Happy Trails to you,
Until we meet again
Good for Dodgers tho. We can only win WS in shortened seasons!
Not true, we can only win with a DH. That problem is solved now.
88 65 63 59 55 were not shortened seasons.
Baseball is secondary right now, Pray for the people in Ukraine for what is happening to their country and what is about to happen.
I’m definitely more disgusted with the war than the outage. I’ve been praying and I’m glad you are too.
One or both of these sides should have put together offers that were closer to halfway on the CBT. Both sides suck. The players suck more. They already got a good raise on the minimum salary and money in a bonus pool that they never had before. On top of that, larger and longer contracts are signed every offseason.
Welp, at least another week of zero baseball news. No roster dreaming. No Spring Training games.
I am disgusted period. I do not care about the players or the owners. As a fan, I am being deprived on something I have looked forward to for most of my life. Spring training and a new baseball season. That being said, although I will always follow the Dodgers, I will never again spend a nickel at a major league ballpark. If the game is not on broadcast TV, then I will just read about it later. There are more important things in life. There are much more serious issues going on all over the world. Piss on all of them.
I think you’re punching yourself in the face on this one. You’re so pissed there’s no baseball, you’re going to punish yourself with no baseball once baseball is back.
No, I am just totally fed up with the whole thing. All the strikes and work stoppages in baseball have taken place in my lifetime. I love the game, but I totally hate this kind of crap. I rarely go to games as it is. The cost of MLB.TV has risen, and it is just not in my budget. If I were to go to a game, I have to drive 250 miles round trip. That is the closest team. Why should I pay all that money only to have the games closest to me blacked out? Even when the Rockies play the Dodgers in LA, I can’t see the games. Not spending money on those who care less if I exist? No brainer for me. I do not care who is right or wrong. We lost enough during the whole pandemic. Here in the building I live in, we still have to wear mask’s inside. Our community room, where we used to have morning coffee and sometime my friends and I would play music for the residents has been closed for over two years. Enough is enough.
Old friend Ross Stripling:
“The owners were torn in some regards,” said Stripling. “There are some teams that really didn’t want the CBT 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.”
“It got to be like 12:30 and the fine print of their CBT proposal was stuff we had never seen before,” Stripling said. “They were trying to sneak things through us, it was like they think we’re dumb baseball players and we get sleepy after midnight or something. It’s like that stupid football quote, they are who we thought they were. They did exactly what we thought they would do. They pushed us to a deadline that they imposed, and then they tried to sneak some shit past us at that deadline and we were ready for it. We’ve been ready for five years. And then they tried to flip it on us today in PR, saying that we’ve changed our tone and tried to make it look like it was our fault. That never happened.”
Interesting comment from Stripling, a very bright guy.
I wish both owners and the union did more to help the minor leaguers. Here’s a link to a fine piece on a grinder who played exactly one inning for Angels before he was DFA’d.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/28/sports/minor-league-baseball-jack-kruger.html
So the Dodgers lose series with the Rox and Diamondbacks with the games not being made up, and that is just the start.
If pushed back further, we lose series with the Rox, Twins and Reds, again with no chance of being replayed.
A big disadvantage.
In other news MLB.com Emailed to say that my subscription will not be taken until there is a resolution to the dispute.
Can’t argue with that.
The game is dying, We are watching billionaires fight millionaires over a pie that is going to start shrinking way sooner than they think. Both sides better be careful. If we learned anything the past couple of years, we, the fans, survived the lack of baseball during Covid.