THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: At this point, hard to have faith in owners or players
Three words could destroy baseball.
Not just wipe out what might be a half-season or even less this summer, but truly gut the sport for years to come.
Just go back to early March, when — astounding as this might sound — MLB and its players union came to an agreement.
Sort of.
Let’s re-visit that deal, and you’ll have no trouble spotting the ruinous three words at the toxic heart of the current impasse.
The context here is provided in an Associated Press story that ran on Saturday …
“Under the March agreement, the season cannot start without MLB’s consent until there are no government restrictions on playing in front of fans in home ballparks, no relevant travel restrictions in the U.S. and Canada, and a determination by (Commissioner Rob) Manfred that there is no health risk to players, staff or spectators.”
Fine.
And then …
“The sides committed to ‘discuss in good faith the economic feasibility of playing games in the absence of spectators or at appropriate substitute neutral sites.’
AH, YES.
“In good faith …”
The problem here is that there can be no negotiations “in good faith” without trust between the two sides, and just as in baseball’s many past labor battles, trust is nowhere to be found.
Owners consider their players as greedy employees. The athletes believe that billionaire owners would dump them all to save a $10 bill.
Notice that we’ve haven’t mentioned the coronavirus, or threats to anyone’s health, in the war that’s currently being waged.
Nope.
Just as in other seasons, this is about money.
And only money.
In case you’ve become disgusted by the entire affair, here’s what each side has in its pocket …
MLB retains the right to open a season (owners would prefer just 48 games if this is done by force, since they will lose money on each game date without fans), and players must turn up under provisions of the present Collective Bargaining Agreement.
They would be breaking labor law by refusing to play.
The players, meanwhile, could respond to that bully move by refusing to ratify a change from 10 to 14 playoff teams — which would deny owners a fat TV check that they want to offset losses from the pandemic.
Both sides suspect the other is bluffing.
And so on.
THE STAKES are far bigger than just seeing any little slice of a 2020 season disappear.
Fans’ views of billionaires fighting millionaires will be downright ugly at a time when 41 million Americans are out of their jobs and there are demonstrations over racial inequality rocking the streets.
Baseball most certainly would lose a lot of its supporters — the people who pay to attend games, to watch on TV and streaming services, to buy merchandise, and so on.
Meanwhile, both the NHL and NBA have come to realize that the National Football League is too huge a behemoth to fight.
Hockey and basketball each suffer in the fall and early winter when matched against the NFL, then leap to life in the spring.
So …
The NHL already has decided to finish this year’s playoffs with a 24-team shootout, then begin the 2021 season on Jan. 1, with that year’s playoffs wrapping up in August.
NBA execs are not stupid, and they’ve spotted the same opportunity — meaning that pro hoops could go in the identical direction.
Would you rather compete for fans and television ratings against the NFL or against a weakened, battle-scarred, less-popular MLB?
Baseball is almost begging for crowded summers and a continuing loss of popularity.
This civil war between owners and players will further ruin a reeling sport.
How can these clowns not see what’s happening?
Do they care?
Email: scameron@cdapress.com
Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. “Moments, Memories and Madness,” his reminiscences from several decades as a sports journalist, runs each Sunday.
Steve also writes Zags Tracker, a commentary on Gonzaga basketball, once per month during the offseason.