The league has canceled more games as negotiations between the owners and players union remain at a standstill.
There are two series that are being removed from the schedule because of the calendar.
I am sad that this situation continues to have an impact on our game and all those who are a part of it.
It has been more than a week since the owners canceled the regular season. League representatives and MLB Players Association officials met this week in New York to discuss a new collective bargaining agreement. Major League Baseball's competitive balance tax and minimum salaries need to be resolved.
Adding a pitcher's clock and a 14-team playoffs is one of the possible additions that could be made. There were 10 teams that made the playoffs last year.
The first two series of the regular season were canceled last week. MLB's previous proposal was the best one, and players will not get paid for missed games.
A bye for the top team in the American League and National League is what MLB envisions for the playoffs. The division winners would host a best-of-three series with all the games at their home field. The higher-seeded team would choose their opponent.
The players prefer 12 teams in the playoffs, but last weekend media reports suggested that the MLBPA would consider 14 teams for division winners. The away team needs to sweep the series to advance.
The idea was dropped by the league. MLB spokesman Glen Caplin said that the union's proposal raises serious issues and is not a viable path forward.
An extra $100 million per season would be added via media rights if MLB expands to a 14-team playoffs. The new TV deals with Turner and Fox will bring in over $1 billion in revenue for MLB over the next decade. Extra games would be part of the package.
The owners and players are at odds over the tax line.
The tax line increased from $195 million to $210 million. The luxury tax was offered to be increased to $220 million. By the year 2026, that would be $230 million. Raising the tax line would allow more teams to spend on players without the payroll penalties.
In the latest proposal from the MLBPA, players indicated they could be in favor of adding a pitcher's clock and limiting defensive shifts that contributed to lack of action in MLB games. As soon as the 2023 season, the additions could be added, but what MLBPA is seeking in exchange for items is unclear.
Though players aren't being paid, MLBPA issues stipends totaling a little more than $12,000 to each player. There is a $1 million fund for stadium workers affected by the work stop.
Tony Clark, MLB executive director, said in a statement that the fund is intended to support workers who are most affected by the MLB-imposed lockout but whose livelihoods have been ignored by the owners in their efforts to pressure players into accepting an unfair deal.
The $1 million fund was matched by MLB.
Major League Baseball is getting the lion's share of the blame. 45% of fans blame MLB owners for the failure to reach a new agreement according to a study. The number of people blaming owners for the dispute around the shortened 2020 season has gone up. The players are blamed by twenty one percent.
Some markets are taking a hit from the labor dispute. The Arizona and Florida spring training territories will lose over $1 billion according to the Wall Street Journal. Most of the revenue for MLB clubs is paused because of the labor dispute.
MLB clubs are not getting their money until the games are played, so they could try to offer extra ad inventory to partners, according to Tony Ponturo, a longtime sports marketing executive.
If it becomes a disaster like it did in 1994-95, companies could walk away.
Turner Sports chief revenue officer Jon Diament said Tuesday companies are still waiting to buy regular-season MLB ad inventory, but they aren't spending their baseball ad budgets on other programing just yet.
Turner Sports can offer better inventory around the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League as MLB remains deadlocked in a labor dispute, so how long marketers will wait for baseball is unclear.
Yankees president Randy Levine told The Michael Kay Show on Monday that it was embarrassing to be where we are.
Levine rejected the idea that owners don't care about missing games in April as it is a low-revenue month.
He said that they were all sick to lose any games. We lose a lot of money when we lose a game. The players lose their salary when they lose a game. That is horrible.
Levine is very afraid that fans will lose interest in MLB if the labor dispute continues.
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