PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The last spring training game was just over two months ago, but reports of Major League Baseball's plan to get the season going have brought some optimism to the sports world. However, in their first meeting with the players' union since owners approved the plan,
baseball officials did not broach the subject most likely to be an obstacle to agreement: their proposal for player salaries.
It is believed MLB will offer an unprecedented 50/50 revenue split with players to help alleviate financial losses from not having fans in the stands. The union, according to all accounts, won't like it because they equate the proposal to a salary cap.
In March the two sides agreed on prorated salaries. They also agreed to discuss the economic feasibility of playing in empty ballparks, but it’s unclear when MLB officials will bring up the revenue-share proposition to the union.
“Every other year, I would stand together and say, ‘The owners aren’t gonna do this to us and we’re gonna get paid our full fare. If I’m gonna put myself out there, I’m gonna get paid a full day’s wage.’ The problem is, is that you people all over the world taking pay cuts, losing their jobs, losing their lives — frontline workers putting their lives at risk," Teixeira said.
“And this is the one time that I would advocate for the players accepting a deal like this. A 50/50 split of revenues is not that crazy. If you really think about it and boil it down to what the players usually get from a revenue standpoint, it’s actually lower than 50 percent of the baseball revenue for a full season. So, if I’m a player, I don’t like it, but I’m gonna go do whatever I have to do to play, and that means taking this deal.”
"If [a potential 2020 MLB season> blows up over money, they will lose fans that they will never get back. And they will deserve it."@Espngreeny and @teixeiramark25 are urging MLB players to accept the return-to-play proposal. pic.twitter.com/npOuO4kOFT
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN)
May 12, 2020 Teixeira may think the players should take the deal, but on ESPN he also seemed to understand a player's perspective as well. They may very well argue for getting “paid a full day’s wage” for putting themselves out there. If the season resumes, players and essential staff will be taking a risk to travel among various cities almost every day for at least three months.
Washington Nationals pitcher Sean Doolittle posted a series of tweets on Monday emphasizing safety as a priority.
Hopefully these concerns will be addressed in MLB's proposal, first and foremost: 1) what's the plan to ethically acquire enough tests? 2) what's the protocol if a player, staff member, or worker contracts the virus? We want to play. And we want everyone to stay safe.
— Obi-Sean Kenobi Doolittle (@whatwouldDOOdo)
May 11, 2020 Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said if MLB is able to develop effective safety precautions, he hopes the players will recognize the importance of their sport to the country’s psyche and be “reasonable” in negotiations.
“I realize that the players have the right to haggle over their salaries, but we do live in a moment where the people of Illinois and the people of the United States deserve to get their pastime back to watch any way on television,” Pritzker said.
According to an Associated Press report, the players’ association declined to comment on Pritzker’s remarks.
Other topics addressed by baseball officials Tuesday included science and logistics for beginning games, a lab in Utah meant to give baseball its own testing ability, and concerns about a possible second wave of the coronavirus later this year.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
