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sports Diabierna 3 December 2021

Manfred, Clark divergent views point to lengthy lockout

(AP) — Hours into Ma- sport’s five-year collective achieve free agency earlier.
jor League Baseball’s bargaining agreement. They will not agree to any-
first work stoppage in 26 thing that would allow play-
years, Commissioner Rob “If you play without an agree- ers to have additional ways
Manfred and union head ment, you are vulnerable to a to get service time to combat
Tony Clark presented dia- strike at any point in time,” service-time manipulation.
metrically opposed views Manfred said. “What hap- They told us on all of those
of each side’s negotiating pened in 1994 is the MLB- things they will not agree.”
positions that point to a PA picked August, when
lengthy lockout. we were most vulnerable Since 1976, players can be-
because of the proximity of come free agents after six sea-
In separate news conferences the large revenue dollars as- sons of major league service.
less than half a day into base- sociated with the postseason. The players’ association pro-
ball’s ninth work stoppage, We wanted to take that op- posed starting with the 2023-
Manfred said the union’s tion away and try to force the 24 offseason that it changes
proposal for greater free parties to deal with the issues to six years or five years and
agency and wider salary arbi- and get an agreement now.” age 30.5, with the age in the
tration would damage small- second option dropping to
market teams. Players gained salary arbitra- 29.5 starting in 2025-26.
tion in 1974 and free agency
Clark, the first former player two years later, and most of Players want arbitration eligi-
to head the union, accused the previous disputes cen- bility to decrease to two years
Manfred of “misrepresen- tered on the rise of big salaries of service, its level until the
tations” in his letter to fans caused by both, along with mid-1980s.
explaining the lockout, and demands, mostly by small-
said “it would have been ben- and middle-market owners, Central to the strife is the
eficial to the process to have to control costs and increase union’s anger over a larger
spent as much time negotiat- their competitive ability. number of teams in recent
ing in the room as it appeared seasons jettisoning veterans
it was spent on the letter.” Management gained an ever- in favor of rebuilding while
increasing series of restraints accumulating prospects.
“It’s unnecessary to contin- over the last two decades, Teams sometimes conclude
ue the dialogue,” Clark said such as a luxury tax on high rebuilding — the players call
of the lockout. “At the first payrolls, leading to a decrease it tanking — is a preferred
instance in some time of a in average salary during the strategy for long-term suc-
bumpy water, the recourse latter years of the most recent cess, even though it can ran-
was a strategic decision to labor deal. kle their fans.
lock players out.”
Now players want more lib- “We feel our proposals would on Wednesday, including six Feb. 16 and opening day on
In many ways, after 26 1/2 eralized free agency and arbi- positively affect competitive nine-figure agreements that March 31.
years of labor peace the sides tration, leading to a confron- balance, competitive integ- raised the total to nine in the
have reverted to the bitter tation. rity,” Meyer said. “We’ve all last month and total spending “The players’ association, as
squabbling that marked eight seen in recent years the prob- to $2.5 billion since Oct. 1. is their right, made an ag-
work stoppages from 1972- “It’s a whole list of topics that lem with teams that don’t gressive set of proposals in
95, including a 7 1/2-month they’ve told us they will not seem to be trying their hard- “The fact that this year there May, and they have refused
strike that wiped out the 1994 negotiate,” said Bruce Mey- est to win games or put the seems to be more activ- to budge from the core of
World Series. er, the players’ chief lawyer. best teams on the field.” ity sooner by clubs in free those proposals,” Manfred
“They will not agree, for ex- agency than a normal year said. “Things like a shortened
Owners locked out players ample, to expand salary arb In the signing scramble ahead raises more questions than reserve period, a $100 million
at 12:01 a.m. Thursday fol- eligibility. They will not agree of the lockout, teams com- it answers about all the oth- reduction in revenue sharing
lowing the expiration of the to any path for any player to mitted $1 billion to contracts er years,” Meyer said. “One and salary arbitration for the
good week of free agency whole two-year class are bad
doesn’t address all the nega- for the sport, bad for the fans
tive trends that we’ve seen.” and bad for competitive bal-
ance.”
MLB would keep existing
free-agency provision or An agreement by early-to-
change eligibility to age 29.5. mid-March is needed for a
full season.
“We already have teams in
smaller markets that struggle “Speculating about drop dead
to compete,” Manfred said deadlines at this point, not
at the Texas Rangers’ ball- productive,” Manfred said.
park, not far from the hotel “So I’m not going to do it.”
where negotiations broke off.
“Shortening the period of Negotiations have made little
time that they control players to no progress since they be-
makes it even harder for them gan last spring. Manfred said
to compete. It’s also bad for a lockout was management’s
fans in those markets. The only tool to speed the pro-
most negative reaction we cess.
have is when a player leaves
via free agency. We don’t see “People need pressure some-
that, making it earlier, avail- times to get to an agreement,”
able earlier, we don’t see that Manfred said. “Candidly, we
as a positive.” didn’t feel that sense of pres-
sure from the other side dur-
The dispute threatens the ing the course of this week.”
start of spring training on