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Sooner, we are probably not a representative sample here, but I just saw this tweet about owners and it has more than 500 likes.
The biggest trick MLB owners — and sports owners as a whole, really — ever pulled was convincing fans somehow that they're just a bunch of benevolent overlords and the players are the greedy, unreasonable ones.
— Listen Here Baseball Commissioner (@spacemnkymafia) February 11, 2019
Owners are like most business owners show me the revenue. They make their money because of the players but like most business employees are just commodities/inputs nothing less nothing more.
I think another factor is that player salaries are known, while ownership profits are cloaked. The casual fan probably doesn’t think about it all that deeply. They see players making millions and don’t think about the owners making tens or hundreds of millions perhaps.
Another example from today, from Cincinnati. I will stop here, but my guess is that there is a substantial number of people in each camp.
why does it seem most fans side with owners when it comes to contracts/salaries rather than players? Why would fans want the money of a record $10.3B baseball industry stuffed in the pocket of the owners?
— LanceMcAlister (@LanceMcAlister) February 13, 2019
Brian is fond of saying (paraphrasing) that the players have made their own bed and now they have to sleep in it. I thought he might appreciate this quote
You never get what you deserve, you only get what you negotiate. So if you can negotiate for $99 after making someone $100—that’s what you’re worth.
That is from Lebron James’ business manager Maverick Carter.
There is no doubt the MLBPA negotiated a bad deal for the players last time and I think they know it. While there may be some pace of play tweaks coming soon the big rules changes won’t get hammered out until the next CBA which is three years away.
I wonder how many players will follow Trevor Bauer’s lead when he stated that he would only sign one year deals for the remainder of his career. The thought is that many more teams would be interested in a one year deal thus driving up the AAV. The downside is that it doesn’t protect the player from injury or performance declines. I think it is an intriguing idea but I suspect most players and agents will be slow to adapt to that philosophy.
The fact that Bauer is saying “never” about things that are clearly going to change tells me I should not pay serious attention to what he is saying. Bauer will probably end up backing down when the rules change.
Just yesterday, I saw reference to an article that the Indians used his social media posts against him in his arbitration hearing. So he has even more reasons to be angry, whether the wounds are self-inflicted or not. He seems to be on the very tip of the reactionary spear.
My Red Wings are tanking now. I don’t know if I should root for them to win, or hope for them to lose. This is a strange situation. Almost surreal.
I check the box scores to see how the younger guys are doing.
Interesting angle on why so many players are suddenly signing long-term contracts covering their arbitration years and in many cases, a year or two more.
The surge of multi-year extensions for young MLB players is like a run on a bank: They're taking their money out while they can because there's greatly diminished confidence in the system/circumstances.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) February 15, 2019
#STLCards pitcher Adam Wainwright on @TMASTL: “Unless something changes, there’s going to be a strike. 100%. I’m just worried people are going to walk-out mid-season.” pic.twitter.com/M8WeRVcASe
— Tim McKernan (@tmckernan) February 15, 2019
Interesting detail: Severino and his agents wanted money pushed toward front of deal to protect against possible strike when CBA expires on Dec. 1, 2021. https://t.co/iRa8udjxbA
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 15, 2019
One unspoken element of these extensions: Agents fear losing players with rising salaries to other agents. Some say union needs to implement stronger protections against client stealing. Would be in union’s interest if it perceives some of these deals as too club-friendly.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 15, 2019
the league has to get a handle on its owners. these owners just care about the bottom line. they don’t care about the game. they can always sell when things go sour and do well with what they have made even if its at a loss at the time which doesn’t happen often. baseball is on its way to becoming a niche sport like hockey. yea some teams locally still do well like the cardinals but nationally it is getting forgotten which will eventually effect all teams. yea pace of play is an issue so is lack of offense which doesn’t have to be home runs. how bout more stealing, more hit and runs, hitting against the shift. requires owners to ditch a lot of this analytic stuff and get managers who can actually manage and have played the game. if owners don’t want to pay for longer contracts, players should get more options like nba players. im not a big fan of that but if owners are going to continue to do what they think is best for their pocket books and not for their team or fans, then something has to change. the nba and the nfl is about the players and that’s why they do so well with the fans and people in general and they are in the national psyche. baeball owners just don’t get that.
Wainwright is way out there, IMO. Nothing major is going to change by mid-season, but of course it will change in the next CBA – if his union does its job. The players are under contract now. They aren’t going to walk out in the middle of this season. To do what? Demand a renegotiation of the bad contract they signed? No way. Goofy talk.
Blaming analytics is a ruse. How does analytics hold down overall salaries? Some players lose while other gains. At most it keeps teams from making stupid decisions. Are some people saying owners shouldnt be helped from making stupid decisions?
No, owners should be held accountable for the percentage of revenue they keep. If not giving the players a bigger share then lower ticket prices and make the game more affordable. But raking in record revenues and then crying economic pressure is not going to fly. If they don’t want to give long term contracts perfectly understandable. But not paying the players just to keep a larger piece of the pie is not right. The players make them money not the other way around.
CariocaCardinal
Blaming analytics is a ruse. How does analytics hold down overall salaries? Some players lose while other gains. At most it keeps teams from making stupid decisions. Are some people saying owners shouldnt be helped from making stupid decisions?
I think the argument is that since now almost every decision is based on data that is spit out of an algorithm most teams value most players the same, whereas before there might be a handful of teams willing to take a chance to get the player. Teams, for the most part, are not taking those chances any longer.
This goes back to the idea that derived from Trevor Bauer and short term contracts. He may be a crazy nut but the idea isn’t necessarily crazy. I think most teams would be willing to gamble on a high AAV if it is a short term deal but they are not going to gamble on a high AAV on long term deals. So it makes sense to me to see more players take the big AAV’s on one or two year deals. That would be one way of keeping salaries high while limiting exposure to the teams. The agents and the MLBPA might not like the idea but it would be better than what is happening right now.
Of course changing the service time rules will be important to the players too but that is at least three years away.
There is no correct or incorrect %. What should be the “correct” % the owners should keep? Last year with record revenue the player’s share was the lowest since 2012. Players will need to structure their contract to address escalating revenues. I don’t care about millionaires fighting billionaires but why should the owners not be held accountable for the high share of revenue they keep? We are quick to point that players don’t deserve what they get but owners do? why? The players drive the revenue. We need hold them both accountable. I am tired of just hearing about greedy players let’s talk about greedy owners also. Maybe one day people will stop spending money on baseball and this discussion will be moot.
So NJ, who is to say that the higher percentages the players got before wasn’t too high. Both the NBA and the NHL have renegotiated the players’ percentages downward at one time or another. Were those billionaire owners greedy? Are those leagues not thriving?
#STLCards Chairman says he does not think there will be a work stoppage.
In this clip from @TMASTL, DeWitt discusses the free agents still unsigned and current players becoming more outspoken in their criticism of the owners. pic.twitter.com/afcm35mmIx
— Tim McKernan (@tmckernan) February 15, 2019
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