Tagged: Lockout
Play Ball
The MLB imposed lockout is over. Labor peace has returned to the highest level of baseball. Free agent signings and trades can begin. Spring Training too. The rhythm of baseball has returned. The 99 day lockout was unnecessary. Baseball is a business. It is something fans must come to terms with, even at the amateur level. No one cheers on a car salesperson or an accountant. People cheer when a pitcher strikes a batter out or a batter gets a hit in a key situation. The lockout was a business decision by the owners. They wanted to renegotiate the terms of employment with the players, simple as that.
The millionaires vs billionaires narrative did not apply this time. From the beginning it was clear ownership was trying to put the screws to the players. Perhaps it was fortuitous timing for the players, organized labor is having a resurgence in America. The only difference is we, the fans, pay to see these workers do their jobs. The owners and Commissioner Rob Manfred failed miserably to run a PR campaign demonizing the players. Tony Clarke and the Players Association used social media to keep fans in their corner. Once it was obvious the fans sided with the players, ownership could not strong arm the players into the lopsided deal they desperately wanted.
Unlike 1994, MLB mostly dodged the bullet it fired at itself. The full 162 game schedule is in place. Only a few Spring Training games were lost. For a while it looked like MLB was willing to ruin what took a quarter century to repair. Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and the Steroid Era saved baseball. It reinvigorated the game, but the resulting scandals came at a steep price which continues to reverberate through the game today. There were eight work stoppages from 1972 to 1995, three lockouts and five strikes. The 1994 Players Strike lasted for 232 days, the longest ever. It nearly killed the game. MLB and the Players Association could ill afford to set a new record for longest stoppage. Baseball nearly lost its soul in that Strike. If this lockout had cost a significant number of games, there would have been significant ramifications. The die hard fans will remain, it is the casual fans and growth of the game you lose. There were four CBAs negotiated since the last stoppage. Labor peace had reigned supreme, but distrust and an unbalanced system brought that to an end. Ultimately everything comes back to money, money, and more money and most importantly who gets it. MLB and the Players Association have a gigantic pie to share. If only they could serve dessert without the drama.
The Braves served as bookends for labor peace. It began with the Braves winning the 1995 World Series and ended with Atlanta winning the 2021 World Series. I love the Braves, but hopefully their next World Series victory does not come with a side of doom and gloom.
The tagline has been #BaseballIsBack. That is wrong. Baseball never left, MLB left. Baseball rolled along without MLB in little league, high school, college, independent, and the Minor Leagues. Welcome back to the game you claim to represent MLB, the game is bigger than one league.
DJ
Back to School
Baseball is more than MLB. There is high level baseball played in leagues not currently locked out. Over the weekend I went to a college game and it was just as exciting as MLB, honestly maybe more so. The University of Cincinnati Bearcats hosted the Northwestern University Wildcats. This was a NCAA Division 1 matchup between the American Athletic Conference and the Big Ten Conference. Due to impending bad weather Sunday the teams played a Doubleheader on Friday and another on Saturday. We caught the second game of the Saturday Doubleheader. My brother in law, my oldest daughter, and I sat as far down the Left Field line as we could. No one needs to take a foul ball off the dome, especially a toddler.
Admittedly I knew little about either team before the game, so I did a little research. The University of Cincinnati has had 50 players drafted and seven make it to the Majors. The most successful alumni is Kevin Youkilis and his 32.4 career WAR. The recent other notable alumni for the Bearcats are Josh Harrison and Ian Happ. Northwestern has had 133 Wildcats drafted and 29 reached the Majors. The highest profile alumni is current Phillies manager Joe Girardi. Other former Wildcat players include J.A. Happ and Mark Loretta. Undoubtedly there are other great players who for various reasons never reached or achieved success in the Majors.
One of the biggest complaints about MLB is the cost of attending a game. Tickets, parking, food, and drinks can quickly run over $100. It would have taken quite an effort to reach the $100 plateau at this game. Tickets were $5 for the adults and free for my daughter. Parking was also $5, even this could have been reduced if we found street parking and walked to the field. There was no sticker shock at the concession stand either. Two beers, two hot dogs, and popcorn for less than $25. The food was solid, some of the best hot dogs I have had at a ballpark in a while.
The game itself was great. It was close early before Cincinnati pulled away thanks to a three Home Run game from JP Sponseller. The Bearcats cruised to a 16-5 victory. There were plenty of opportunities to cheer, which my daughter was more than happy to do for both teams. The game’s outcome did not matter to me. It was about spending time at the ballpark with my brother in law and daughter. We watched and talked baseball while she colored, ate hot dogs, and walked up and down the aisle. She liked looking down at the Cincinnati bullpen and cheering when something happened. Three hours of entertainment for everyone. I was in my happy place.
One of the great things about watching college baseball is not being blasted with advertisements or unnecessarily noise. One of the biggest takeaways from the 30 in 30 roadtrip is how MLB never allows fans to simply enjoy the pause between innings. There is always something in your face or ears. Yes there was a race between a cow and a hot dog, the hot dog won, but this felt like the entertainment from Minor League Baseball, not the overstimulation at a Major League game.
It was great going to the game just the three of us. Ultimately going to the ballpark is about watching the game and spending time with your friends and family. The game itself is secondary to the time you set aside to ignore the real world, relax in the sun, and watch a children’s game. I will take my daughter back to many more college baseball games. There is nothing better than some quality time together with baseball.
DJ
Burning It Down
Major League Baseball does not know how to get out of its own way. Instead of a buzz around pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training, everyone is wondering how long the lockout will last. MLB took a hit when it trimmed and reorganized the Minor Leagues. Now it is proposing reducing the number of minor leaguers from the remaining teams. This comes after the reduction of rounds in the draft, thus fewer opportunities to play professional baseball. This with the ongoing saga of how poorly minor leaguers are paid and taken care of by a multibillion dollar sport.
This infighting is horrible. This is not what Bart Giamatti meant by “It is designed to break your heart” in The Greenfields of the Mind. For three decades baseball had labor peace while the only major American sports tried to tear themselves apart. The lessons from 1994 have been forgotten. Compromise is a four letter word in today’s world. Giving an inch is treated as a treasonous act. Compromise is how things get done. Agreeing where you can and work towards each other where you differ. No agreement is perfect, but burning the house down because you don’t like the drapes is not how you redecorate.
Baseball will not come through this unscathed. This goes beyond MLB, the game itself will be hurt. Stars like Shohei Ohtani, Ronald Acuna Jr, Corey Seager, or Aaron Judge are not promoted on the national level like the stars in other sports. Once again MLB missed the boat. Baseball is losing ground and the lack of leadership is leading the game into the abyss. Baseball is becoming boxing. Boxing lost its way when people’s greed overtook their love of the sport. The future of boxing be damned, I’m taking every last penny. The owners and players both want as much of baseball’s profits as possible. They should, it is a business. However, the owners seem willing to let it burn if the players do not relent. Are the players justified in every demand? That is debatable. What is not up for debate is the unwillingness of the owners to actually negotiate. We are not in the room, but going from a proposal to a counter proposal to seeking mediation seems like bad faith negotiating. It’s convenient that the owners, people and companies, run to the government now but do their best to keep the government away when it comes to taxes and ensuring they follow the law.
This labor dust up is dumb. It is hopefully a strange silver lining for those MLB has sidelined or hindered in recent years. MLB and the Players Association seem worlds apart and the only baseball on the horizon is College, Independent, and MiLB. These teams, players, coaches, and organizations are promoting and growing the game. When a coach, who played professionally, speaks, players listen. Giving back to baseball is not reserved for Major Leaguers. It is a high school coach who never played beyond high school. It is the former minor leaguer who is an assistant at the local junior college. It is the 12 year Major League veteran managing in independent ball. Impacting the game is everyone’s job. It is a sad time for baseball’s highest level, but we should focus on promoting the teams and leagues below MLB that impact every community, big and small.
DJ
The Winning Run 