MLB owners took a punch at players, by notifying them that if they don’t reach a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) by Monday, games would be lost and won’t be rescheduled.
It’s a low blow because players would be more than open to playing doubleheaders if needed, with the intention of playing as many games as possible.
But the league won’t reschedule any lost games, and won’t pay players for games missed.
That piece of news has resulted in some angry responses by the union.
According to an MLB reporter, there could be repercussions towards the league by the players for establishing a hard deadline with so little time in advance.
“MLB spokesperson: If no agreement by Feb. 28, games will be missed and those games will be canceled — the season will be shortened. ‘Missed games are missed games. Feb. 28 is the deadline.’ Players wouldn’t be paid. Players would likely respond by taking back expanded playoffs,” Michael Silverman said.
MLB spokesperson: If no agreement by Feb. 28, games will be missed and those games will be canceled — the season will be shortened.
“Missed games are missed games. Feb. 28 is the deadline.”
Players wouldn’t be paid. Players would likely respond by taking back expanded playoffs.— Michael Silverman (@MikeSilvermanBB) February 23, 2022
MLB Owners Have Wanted Expanded Playoffs For Years
For years, the owners have wanted to include expanded playoffs in CBA proposals.
We even saw it in 2020, during the pandemic year.
The thing with expanded playoffs is that it benefits owners much more than it does players.
Players receive their payment for regular season games, but owners get most of the pie during the playoffs, which doesn’t include a fixed salary for the former.
Instead, the revenue share for the postseason greatly favors the owners.
The players know that taking away expanded playoffs hurts the owners: perhaps not as much as missing regular season games hurts the players, but still: it’s a negotiation.
The league has to know that trying to force and impose things will not end well.
NEXT: Marcus Stroman Gives Great Advice For Young Pitchers