Daily Archives: June 1, 2020

Sorry MLB, 50 games is not enough

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After the MLBPA’s proposal was promptly declined, MLB has proposed a season that would be around 50 games which just isn’t enough.

Good news! MLB came back with a proposal in a rather short period of time. Bad news! It stinks. The proposal includes a season that would be around 50 games according to Jeff Passan.

This comes after the 114-game proposal from the players was rejected. The amount of games proposed from the players seemed a bit high, but there has to be something closer to 80 games that they can agree upon. 50 games just isn’t enough.

50 games is just short enough for a team to get off to a fluky start and get into the playoffs when they clearly don’t belong. Take the 2015 Detroit Tigers for example, they started off hot and were 14-6 through their first 20 games. Detroit found themselves 28-22 through 50 games, just two games behind eventual World Series Champion Kansas City. Minnesota was also 30-20 through 50 games, eventually finishing second in the division. Their hot start proved to be a mirage as the bottom eventually fell out and the Tigers ended up in last place in the American League Central.

Sometimes teams get off to bad starts. A perfect example is the reigning World Series Champion Washington Nationals. Washington seemed to be dead in the water at 19-31 and in dead last in the National League Central. Thanks to a long enough season the Nats were able to finish at 93-69 and make the playoffs and eventually defeat the Astros in the World Series.

What it comes down to is having enough games to sort through the hot and bad starts. Baseball can be weird sometimes with teams playing above and below their skill levels, luckily the season is long enough for water to find its level. A season that is too short can result in teams that do not deserve to be in the postseason making it while teams that are superior sitting at home. If MLB wants to avoid an asterisk situation a 50-game season simply cannot happen. They need to have a significantly longer season in order to crown a proper champion.

MLB owners are a bunch of buffoons

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The MLB owners have rejected the counter-proposal from the MLB players union as the standoff between the two sides continues.

A chance at a return to baseball has now hit an all-time low. The MLB players union made a proposal Sunday evening that has received a rather quick rejection from the owners. Before we dive in to their rejection, let’s take a look at the proposal.

Nothing too extreme here. Only real point of contention should be the amount of games and length of season, but besides that there is nothing that cannot be negotiated. Unfortunately the owners did not view things the same way.

If there has been one side that has been completely unreasonable it is the owners side. The owners keep refusing to open the books to prove their losses are as massive as they claim. The owners want to pay their players pennies on the dollar and in return get the product/performance expected for the full salary.

If MLB really wants to return this year it is the owners who need to give in, not the players. The billionaire owners are the ones who can afford to take the losses right now. The owners will own the team much longer than their players will be playing baseball. This means that they will have many more opportunities to make back the money they are losing this season. Their players are not afforded that same luxury.

If baseball is going to return in 2020 it is the owners who need to meet the demands of the players, not the other way around. If not, it is the stubbornness of the owners that will give baseball the death sentence that many have been expecting for quite some time.