Long or shorter season, that is the question
Major League Baseball Commissioner, Rob Manfred, had a favorable reaction to the opinion of the Cubs star, Anthony Rizzo, that if a campaign is shortened, the players should expect to be paid less. Although a controversial issue, what’s important is that the subject was brought again. And that MLB’s top official referred to it and it is an advocate of the idea.
Not surprisingly, Rob Manfred has had a favorable reaction to the opinion of Chicago Cubs star Anthony Rizzo that if a campaign is shortened, players should expect them to be paid less. "I think Anthony's comments were realistic in the sense that he linked the fact that, in fact, if you were going to play 154 games or a smaller number of games, the players had to be participants in that process," Manfred said. He spoke with Associated Press Sports Editors on Friday.
"They will work less, they will probably earn less." This is a position in which the executive director of the Players' Union, Tony Clark, has been openly against for several years. He has said he does not think his players deserve a salary cut, even if baseball will implement a shorter season, something that Manfred acknowledged has again been discussed. "We had a pretty important internal discussion about 154, 158 games, after I was elected commissioner," he said. "It was an issue that was fashionable in the industry at that time”.
Rizzo, who spoke on the weekly radio show ESPN 100 in Chicago on Tuesday, stressed that this was his "humble opinion" when the issue came up after the Cubs postponed their second game in a row, which came in a month in which they had five games postponed due to the weather. "I think playing in the cold is junk," said Rizo. "As a fan, you're going to a baseball game in April and it's raining and freezing rain. Is it really that fun? That is my question". Rizzo said he thinks the Major League teams played "too much baseball”. "Yes, the boys are going to receive salary cuts," Rizzo said. "But are we playing this game for the money or do we love this game? I know they are both, but in the long run everything will improve".
Manfred agrees but acknowledged that it is a complicated issue, even without considering what the union wants”. "If the (players) are not significant enough, those financial ramifications are very different depending on the market in which a club operates," Manfred said. "So when you think about trying to achieve a consensus in the clubs, obviously the money matters, and the disproportionate differences in money make the issue even more difficult because some clubs say 'hey, it will cost me millions and millions of dollars'. That is a difficult problem internally”.
There is no indication of a real boost towards a shorter season, but with the almost record amount of cancellations due to bad weather this month, the issue will re-emerge. As it already did. Are you a baseball fan? What do you think of this issue?