Name: Baseball blew it: MLB could have been the first sport back, but instead it’s arguing over how to divide up billions of dollars
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Baseball blew it: MLB could have been the first sport back, but instead it’s arguing over how to divide up billions of dollars

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With the sports world reeling from the coronavirus-induced shutdown, baseball had a priceless opportunity: a Grand Canyon-sized window to return to the field before its major competitors and stage a triumphant return around the Fourth of July. But baseball has squandered that chance and is now struggling to reach any kind of deal at all. Team owners and the players’ union remain deadlocked in a bitter labor standoff over how to appropriately divide billions of dollars in a pandemic-shortened season. The possibility of playing on Independence Day is gone.So, too, is baseball’s opportunity to serve as a positive part of the national recovery process at a time of historic crisis. Rather than rekindling its dwindling fan base, this increasingly hostile conflict now threatens to impart lasting — and perhaps irreparable — damage to an industry waning in influence and popularity with younger audiences. At the heart of the dispute is an agreement the two parties signed on March 26, which stipulated that players’ salaries would be prorated for the number of games played. The players say they consider the issue of compensation settled and will not accept anything less. The league, however, points to language that requires good-faith discussion about the economic feasibility of playing games in empty stadiums, a hypothetical that has become a reality. MLB says it must gain further concessions on player pay to help cover what it describes as severe losses from a year with no fans in attendance. After the parties traded strongly worded letters last week, MLB submitted a proposal Monday, several people familiar with the matter said. It called for a 76-game schedule beginning in mid-July, with players guaranteed to earn 50% of their prorated salaries. They would receive an additional 25% if the lucrative playoffs happen as planned — protecting the owners against the growing fear that a resurgence of coronavirus cases in the fall could lead to their cancellation. The proposal also called for the one-time elimination of several collectively bargained mechanisms that often discourage teams from spending on free agents.U.S. known cases of COVID are continuing to ease and now stand at their lowest level since early May, although the numbers need to be viewed gently, given the number of people testing at home, where the data are not being collected.SearchVisit a quote page and your recently viewed tickers will be displayed here.Search TickersNo results found

With the sports world reeling from the coronavirus-induced shutdown, baseball had a priceless opportunity: a Grand Canyon-sized window to return to the field before its major competitors and stage a triumphant return around the Fourth of July. But baseball has squandered that chance and is now struggling to reach any kind of deal at all. Team owners and the players’ union remain deadlocked in a bitter labor standoff over how to appropriately divide billions of dollars in a pandemic-shortened season. The possibility of playing on Independence Day is gone.So, too, is baseball’s opportunity to...

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Jared Diamond

MarketWatch is a website that provides financial information, business news, analysis, and stock market data. Along with The Wall Street Journal and Barron's, it is a subsidiary of Dow Jones & Company, a property of News Corp. Notable contributors include Mark Hulbert and Francine McKenna.

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Baseball blew it: MLB could have been the first sport back, but instead it’s arguing over how to divide up billions of dollars

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