I don’t mean to Jeterate, but I think somebody should give Derek Jeter some props. Whether because of his moral compass, or solidarity with the players, or a combination, he gave up a pretty good gig for principles. Or maybe he’s just not enough of a coldhearted dishonest bastard to be a successful owner…
I am often amazed at how bad a lot of people are in the media itself along with those whose job it is to talk to the media. It's so bad, when there's someone who's actually good at their job dealing with the media, they standout. That's not to give Rob Manfred a pass. He's terrible & I guess the owners really don't care what a disaster he is in front of the microphone. They only care that he's willing to stick it to the players without any shame.
Just to clarify...they didn't even have to reach an agreement.
The owners could have unilaterally ended the lockdown and continued with the old CBA, without even bothering to ask for the players' consent. But the owners didn't want to.
For a time, I thought that they were going to try this once games were sure to be missed, forcing the players to strike (as it would not raise the minimums for young players which is the main thing for the players) but besides the tax sunset that J Hench mentioned, it would also end playoff expansion, which is the big thing for the owners.
They could still try it if they were sure the players would strike. It would put the fan ire on the players and give them a PR win. But I don't think they want to take even the slightest chance that playoffs won't expand.
I’ve seen it reported that the tax sunset with the old agreement. If so I understand the owners not wanting to play under the old agreement with no spending disincentives in place. But other than that, I agree - it didn’t seem like the owners were unhappy with the old agreement, so what are they trying to change?
After 50plus years of watching all the major sports, I am thoroughly amazed at how tone deaf and inept three of the major sport commissioners are. Of course I’m referring to Silver, Goodell and Manfred. I can’t recall a time in my life when three stooges like these guys have literally set fire to their respective brands. For years, Gary Bettman of the NHL was viewed as the worst of the Big Four, but now, just by keeping his league running, growing the brand and staying out of divisive politics, Bettman has ascended to the top of the heap. Hockey fans still boo him every chance they get, but hey, at least the guy is marginally competent. I can’t say the same for the other three.
I think Silver's been pretty solid. Silver's really only unpopular with people who aren't NBA fans or players anyway. But the other three are pretty terrible in the media & generally.
Teams are of course still having their season ticket reps call us asking to buy plans for this year. I could only laugh, such bad taste all around. What has MLB gotten right in the last 10 years? 20 years? The Field of Dreams game and Ft. Bragg maybe … that’s the list.
Agree with Joe here but i think the free extension to MLB subscription includes access to past games as well so there is *still* some benefit there. Perhaps a gimmick to buy support from subscribers...
I’ve paid for seats in the suites. I’ve been to a World Series. But, there are other sports. Baseball, please don’t make me change my love. Don’t make me tell you all where to stick your MLBTV subscription. Wake up and fix this!
Competitive Balance Tax. Man, Orwell would be proud (or horrified, if he liked baseball, which he probably didn't).
This is all so sad. I hope Rob Manfred falls in a hole and nobody that sees him bothers to even ask how he's doing or if he'd like help getting out. What an absolute waste of hundreds of thousands of years of human evolution. And Harvard Law! Why am I not surprised? The owners swoon for "the greater Ivys", to paraphrase another human-mustellidae hybrid, one Ted Theodore Cruz,
I got that MLB.tv email, too, and I updated my account to uncheck “automatic renewal” and deleted my credit card information. I’ve cancelled the cable package I carried only to get access to MLB games that were otherwise blacked out. And if they play in 2022, I will not attend.
I’ve been a fan for almost all of my 52 years, I read about baseball every day (including following Joe on all 5327 platforms he’s meandered through over the years), I’ve taken my kids to Cooperstown for Father’s Day. I am not a casual fan.
But I just cannot allow myself to give more money to people who so openly spit in the face of the people who actually play the games and (even more) the people who pay to see them. I’ll be watching more college baseball and independent league baseball. There are way too many excellent things to do with my time and money for me to keep handing them over to people who care more about their next billion than they do about the people making it for them.
I think this is what we should be rooting for. Something like a two week delay in the middle of the World Series because Detroit or New York or Boston or somewhere is having a blizzard and a series of sub- 10 or 20° evenings. Or Cleveland, Joe😎
I have been saying for a while that Rob Manfred may be the worst commissioner of baseball ever, and it's quite disappointing. I would also like to believe the owners are the worst owners we've ever had, but the truth is the owners have ALWAYS been this bad. Always, period. Owners are acting like most owners of capital (and in some ways this is entirely rational and reasonable). If I were a multibillion dollar owner I'd be finding ways to maximize my profits to, most like. Heck we all know there's a REASON that they became multi billionaires and it's not because they're nice and care about the little guy (or, as it turns out, quite rich millionaires).
But still I struggle to believe, at times, how willfully blind the owners are, how blind Manfred apparently appears to be as well. How can they not see how stupid this fight is about, at the end of the day? It's a travesty, and I think the whole season is doomed.
Your comment (which I thought was right on target) made me think about just how terrible MLB's commissioners have been in my lifetime. Bowie Kuhn was horrible, but also fairly ineffective. Ueberroth was clever enough, but was also party to the collusion that tarred baseball during the late 1980s. We'll never know how good or bad Giamatti would have been. Fay Vincent seemed ok, so naturally the owners fired him. Then, of course, Selig, whose name will forever be associated with steroids and a cancelled World Series. And now Manfred.
No other major sport has had that kind of run of fecklessness and hackery. (Bettman's pretty bad, I guess, but I have no idea what his predecessors were like, or even what their names were.) It seems likely that the nearly relentless awfulness of the commissioners reflects the relentless awfulness of the owners, but that still begs the question of why the billionaires who own NBA teams seem to hire better people to lead them (football, too, at least until Goodell).
I don’t mean to Jeterate, but I think somebody should give Derek Jeter some props. Whether because of his moral compass, or solidarity with the players, or a combination, he gave up a pretty good gig for principles. Or maybe he’s just not enough of a coldhearted dishonest bastard to be a successful owner…
I am often amazed at how bad a lot of people are in the media itself along with those whose job it is to talk to the media. It's so bad, when there's someone who's actually good at their job dealing with the media, they standout. That's not to give Rob Manfred a pass. He's terrible & I guess the owners really don't care what a disaster he is in front of the microphone. They only care that he's willing to stick it to the players without any shame.
Just to clarify...they didn't even have to reach an agreement.
The owners could have unilaterally ended the lockdown and continued with the old CBA, without even bothering to ask for the players' consent. But the owners didn't want to.
For a time, I thought that they were going to try this once games were sure to be missed, forcing the players to strike (as it would not raise the minimums for young players which is the main thing for the players) but besides the tax sunset that J Hench mentioned, it would also end playoff expansion, which is the big thing for the owners.
They could still try it if they were sure the players would strike. It would put the fan ire on the players and give them a PR win. But I don't think they want to take even the slightest chance that playoffs won't expand.
I’ve seen it reported that the tax sunset with the old agreement. If so I understand the owners not wanting to play under the old agreement with no spending disincentives in place. But other than that, I agree - it didn’t seem like the owners were unhappy with the old agreement, so what are they trying to change?
Who hires these chuckleheads. Is the Commissioner even a fan? Does he enjoy a game on a Sunday afternoon? Does he love it?
After 50plus years of watching all the major sports, I am thoroughly amazed at how tone deaf and inept three of the major sport commissioners are. Of course I’m referring to Silver, Goodell and Manfred. I can’t recall a time in my life when three stooges like these guys have literally set fire to their respective brands. For years, Gary Bettman of the NHL was viewed as the worst of the Big Four, but now, just by keeping his league running, growing the brand and staying out of divisive politics, Bettman has ascended to the top of the heap. Hockey fans still boo him every chance they get, but hey, at least the guy is marginally competent. I can’t say the same for the other three.
I think Silver's been pretty solid. Silver's really only unpopular with people who aren't NBA fans or players anyway. But the other three are pretty terrible in the media & generally.
Teams are of course still having their season ticket reps call us asking to buy plans for this year. I could only laugh, such bad taste all around. What has MLB gotten right in the last 10 years? 20 years? The Field of Dreams game and Ft. Bragg maybe … that’s the list.
Well, Joe, what the heck are we going to do? I'm ready to to take up arms...
Agree with Joe here but i think the free extension to MLB subscription includes access to past games as well so there is *still* some benefit there. Perhaps a gimmick to buy support from subscribers...
I'm surprised that anyone is surprised that this is happening.
I’ve paid for seats in the suites. I’ve been to a World Series. But, there are other sports. Baseball, please don’t make me change my love. Don’t make me tell you all where to stick your MLBTV subscription. Wake up and fix this!
What if we have this all wrong? What if what Manfred really wants America to do, is give up baseball for Lent?
Competitive Balance Tax. Man, Orwell would be proud (or horrified, if he liked baseball, which he probably didn't).
This is all so sad. I hope Rob Manfred falls in a hole and nobody that sees him bothers to even ask how he's doing or if he'd like help getting out. What an absolute waste of hundreds of thousands of years of human evolution. And Harvard Law! Why am I not surprised? The owners swoon for "the greater Ivys", to paraphrase another human-mustellidae hybrid, one Ted Theodore Cruz,
Apologies to the mustelidae.
Our entire country is run by Ivy Leaguers, and look where that's gotten us.
I got that MLB.tv email, too, and I updated my account to uncheck “automatic renewal” and deleted my credit card information. I’ve cancelled the cable package I carried only to get access to MLB games that were otherwise blacked out. And if they play in 2022, I will not attend.
I’ve been a fan for almost all of my 52 years, I read about baseball every day (including following Joe on all 5327 platforms he’s meandered through over the years), I’ve taken my kids to Cooperstown for Father’s Day. I am not a casual fan.
But I just cannot allow myself to give more money to people who so openly spit in the face of the people who actually play the games and (even more) the people who pay to see them. I’ll be watching more college baseball and independent league baseball. There are way too many excellent things to do with my time and money for me to keep handing them over to people who care more about their next billion than they do about the people making it for them.
This is just so heartbreaking, Joe. I WANT baseball, but I hope the players hold strong.
100% do not want expanded playoffs
Especially if they don't shorten the regular reason. Are we supposed to watch World Series games played in the snow?
I think this is what we should be rooting for. Something like a two week delay in the middle of the World Series because Detroit or New York or Boston or somewhere is having a blizzard and a series of sub- 10 or 20° evenings. Or Cleveland, Joe😎
For some reason I cannot like posts on JoeBlogs
I have been saying for a while that Rob Manfred may be the worst commissioner of baseball ever, and it's quite disappointing. I would also like to believe the owners are the worst owners we've ever had, but the truth is the owners have ALWAYS been this bad. Always, period. Owners are acting like most owners of capital (and in some ways this is entirely rational and reasonable). If I were a multibillion dollar owner I'd be finding ways to maximize my profits to, most like. Heck we all know there's a REASON that they became multi billionaires and it's not because they're nice and care about the little guy (or, as it turns out, quite rich millionaires).
But still I struggle to believe, at times, how willfully blind the owners are, how blind Manfred apparently appears to be as well. How can they not see how stupid this fight is about, at the end of the day? It's a travesty, and I think the whole season is doomed.
Spot on, man.
Also, occasionally I can't "like" (or "heart react" or whatever) posts on various Substacks. It's gotta be a glitch.
Your comment (which I thought was right on target) made me think about just how terrible MLB's commissioners have been in my lifetime. Bowie Kuhn was horrible, but also fairly ineffective. Ueberroth was clever enough, but was also party to the collusion that tarred baseball during the late 1980s. We'll never know how good or bad Giamatti would have been. Fay Vincent seemed ok, so naturally the owners fired him. Then, of course, Selig, whose name will forever be associated with steroids and a cancelled World Series. And now Manfred.
No other major sport has had that kind of run of fecklessness and hackery. (Bettman's pretty bad, I guess, but I have no idea what his predecessors were like, or even what their names were.) It seems likely that the nearly relentless awfulness of the commissioners reflects the relentless awfulness of the owners, but that still begs the question of why the billionaires who own NBA teams seem to hire better people to lead them (football, too, at least until Goodell).
I don’t always like Selig but I felt he was effective and got better as he went on
I think that he just got better at hiding how much he hated the players, especially once he had Manfred as his attack dog.