The Pinstriped Baseball Lane

The morning of June 8 marked the second day in 2020 that the baseball world is searching for a proposal that will lead to the restart of this pandemically fractured baseball season.

In this latest offer, it includes a 76-game season, but at 75% of the players’ prorated salaries with only a 50% base guaranteed — the other 25% percent will be paid if the playoffs are completed. MLB also has offered to drop the draft-pick compensation for free agents this offseason, and as David Lennon of newsday.com explains, it has been, “a longtime irritant for the players”.

The playoffs are a crucial element to any proposal because of MLB’s fear that a second coronavirus wave could happen. With the possible threat of another wave approaching, fans could be looking at the possibility of the wiping out of the postseason. If the pandemic stays in full force, we could all miss out on the excitement of baseball’s postseason action and the intensity of the World Series in October.

Now, digging deeper, players aren’t willing to settle for anything less than 100% of their prorated salaries. It is something that they believe is ironclad from the March 26 agreement. This belief of the players is also critical when it comes to the health risks and the game’s potential return to the baseball diamond.

MLB’s first proposal was an 82-game schedule with sliding-scale salary reductions, which featured the most drastic cuts for the highest-paid players, and that was angrily rejected by the union. So, I am hoping that this proposal could be the one they implement and it could finally lead to some baseball action.

From my understanding, if these negotiations result in a dead end, commissioner Rob Manfred could simply proceed with a season without the union’s approval, which he is empowered to do under the March agreement. I am tired of waiting for baseball’s return, so if it comes down to having the Commissioner’s involvement, I guess I can accept that. According to Newsday’s Lennon, “In that scenario, the owners would decide on a number of games that is ‘economically feasible’ — around 48 or so — and pay the players on a full pro-rata basis.”

At the end of the day, I hope that the baseball executives and the player’s union come to an agreement that in turn will lead to having America’s Pastime be apart of the healing process in this pandemic.