Why are they not playing baseball ?

[egri]

Originally Posted by BobbyStrawberry

Doubtless one thing we can all agree on is that Rob Manfred has no business being commissioner of a beer league, much less MLB.

I didn't think we could have a worse commissioner than Selig, but Manfred has proved me wrong. Selig at least was a fan of the game.

[jingram058]

It's 100% on the players and the owners, 50/50. The whole thing is a pile of feces anymore. Too many TV commercials every half inning to pay those player salaries you're all so quick to defend, thus you can't shorten the length of a nine inning game enough to keep anyone interested. Stupid designated hitters, stadiums named after corporations, instant replays, four finger intentional walks, yada yada yada. Yeah, baseball is great, the players all ought make a trillion dollars and the owners are all greedy. BS.

[Fred]

Players want more pay to play a game that most would kill to play for free at that level.

Owners are getting tired of having to provide contracts for single players that is the GDP of some small nations.

No clue on a happy middle ground.

What would be cool is if players were paid a NICE minimum salary at the MLB level so that they are all rewarded for being in the show. Then figure a formula that pays all players at a rate that reflects their recent past production.

No way to get parity in the league because if you're in the Yankees or Dodgers system, you're in the land of moola. If you're in a small market then the money just isn't the same.

Believe me, I'm not against players making an incredible amount of money but when you think about it, just how many of them would turn down a $30M 5 year contract to play ball if the only other option was having to actually "work" for a living.

Owners should lower prices for fans. That would require players not asking for unbelievable pay days. Without fans the sport ain't shit. And neither is our card board.

In my eyes, they (players/owners) should take better care of the minor leaguers and consider the fans by making it affordable for the ordinary average guy.

[G1911]

Originally Posted by jingram058

It's 100% on the players and the owners, 50/50. The whole thing is a pile of feces anymore. Too many TV commercials every half inning to pay those player salaries you're all so quick to defend, thus you can't shorten the length of a nine inning game enough to keep anyone interested. Stupid designated hitters, stadiums named after corporations, instant replays, four finger intentional walks, yada yada yada. Yeah, baseball is great, the players all ought make a trillion dollars and the owners are all greedy. BS.

I'm too young to be a grouchy old fart, but I agree. I have no sympathy for whiny billionaire owners. And no sympathy for whiny millionaires who play a game and act like they are somehow oppressed by this system in which they are in the very top percentile of the most fortunate people on the planet while getting to earn it by playing a game. The increasing costs to watch a game that is less interesting with every year and increasingly becoming a limited outcome event (swing for dinger, or strikeout) is just not a good combination to me. I don't really watch games anymore, still love the history. It has always had its problems and there is no such thing as perfect balance, but watching millionaires cry every few years that they aren't paid enough to throw a baseball while they outearn 99%+ of Americans while living their dream is offputting.

[LincolnVT]

I heard that they were upset about cards being too expensive.

[shagrotn77]

Baseball is the only sport that basically forecasts a lockout or strike at the end of a CBA and does zero to stop it. I've always found this to be maddening. The players were completely uncompromising 2 years ago when the owners were trying to schedule a season while Covid was in its infancy. They continue to ask for more and want to do less. And Tony Clark has become the new Donald Fehr in that he's doing his best to destroy the game that so many of us love. The owners aren't blameless, of course, but they always seem more willing to compromise than the players do. On a side note, I sure hope the runner at 2B to start extra innings is going away as they said it would. That's slow pitch softball crap that has no place in MLB.

[BobbyStrawberry]

Originally Posted by shagrotn77

On a side note, I sure hope the runner at 2B to start extra innings is going away as they said it would.

I hope so too. There are no words for how much I hate that rule! It completely ruined extra inning games for me.

[insidethewrapper]

2b to start an inning is total crap.

It's funny the players making millions of dollars, want the Home Run ball they hit given back to them by the fans etc ( for nothing). OK, they give a bat and sign it ( nothing out of the pocket ). Max is making over $ 1 million per game pitched. These guys now only pitch about 32 games a year (5-7 innings ea) .

Talk about competitive teams. when I grew up Detroit never had a chance, it was always the NY Yankees, year after year, and KC would give them any player they wanted. Was that the good old days, when only a couple of team could win the World Series, now many teams have won in the 21st Century.