ST. LOUIS (KMOX/AP) - Time is wasting for 37-year-old catcher Yadier Molina. And he made it clear that he's ready to get back behind the plate for the St. Louis Cardinals as soon as possible.
The catcher posted a pair of photos on Instagram, saying "We Want To Play," and "We want to PLAY" on both of them. He and the rest of Major League Baseball haven't played in a game in nearly three full months and frustration may be starting to build.
"We Want To Play .. We are Ready,,,.. “The Players are ready. The fans are ready. The country is ready. It’s time to #letthekidsplay,” Molina stated on Instagram.
A post shared by @ yadier_marciano_molina on Jun 7, 2020 at 12:16pm PDT
Then in a second post on Sunday, Molina again said, "We Want To PLAY... We Are Ready.."
We Want To PLAY... We Are Ready..
A post shared by @ yadier_marciano_molina on Jun 7, 2020 at 8:10am PDT
And judging by the number of his teammates and fellow big leaguers who commented on his post, there's a lot of agreement. Cardinals players like Harrison Bader, Dylan Carlson, Genesis Cabrera and Junior Fernandez commented on his post with multiple fire and muscular arm emojis. And similar comments came from Texas Rangers infielder Todd Frazier, Chicago White Sox designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion and Minnesota Twins outfielder Eddie Rosario.
But the 2020 season still won't begin until the MLB Player's Association and MLB owners come to an agreement.
Major League Baseball made another try to start the coronavirus-delayed season in early July, by proposing a 76-game regular season, expanding the playoffs from 10 teams to as many as 16 and allowing players to earn about 75% of their prorated salaries.
MLB’s latest proposal would guarantee 50% of players’ prorated salaries over the regular season, according to details obtained by The Associated Press on Monday.
Players have refused cuts beyond what they agreed to in March shortly after the pandemic began, part of baseball’s again acrimonious labor relations. The arduous negotiations have jeopardized plans to hold opening day around the Fourth of July in empty ballparks and provide entertainment to a public still emerging from months of quarantine.
The proposal would eliminate all free-agent compensation for the first time since the free-agent era started in 1976. It also would forgive 20% of the $170 million in salaries already advanced to players during April and May.
“If the players desire to accept this proposal, we need to reach an agreement by Wednesday,” Deputy Commissioner Dan Halem wrote in a letter to union negotiator Bruce Meyer that was obtained by The Associated Press. “While we understand that it is a relatively short time frame, we cannot waste any additional days if we are to have sufficient time for players to travel to spring training, conduct COVID-19 testing and education, conduct a COVID-19 testing and education, conduct a spring training of an appropriate length, and schedule a 76-game season that ends no later than Sept. 27.”