House That Hank Built
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Atlanta Braves wait to play as MLB and MLBPA bicker

By Fred Owens

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred must decided on appropriate disciplinary action for Atlanta Braves outfielder Marcell Ozuna (Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred must decided on appropriate disciplinary action for Atlanta Braves outfielder Marcell Ozuna (Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images) /
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View from the outfield of an empty American Family Fields stadium. (Photo by Ralph Freso/Getty Images) /

The rules for a season seemed clear at the end of March; since then MLB and the MLBPA seem far apart as Atlanta Braves wait for games to begin.

The March agreement essentially cut team payroll by paying players a percentage of their contract based on the percentage of games played. Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel provide the rationale for the agreement at that time.

"The coronavirus could wipe out billions . . . in revenue, (and) salaries typically ebb and flow with the financial health of the sport. Especially acute to the sport’s financial standing are cash-poor franchises . . ."

It also included concessions, particularly on service time, that the union demanded, and Passan-McDaniel pointed out. (My emphasis added)

"Players cared deeply about the doomsday scenario. Service time, which . . .  goes toward determining free agency, arbitration eligibility and pension, was their focal point — particularly service time in the event of a lost season . . . . . .  the union insisted that major league players receive full service regardless of the outcome. When MLB relented . . . the deal went from probable to near-certainty."

The agreement also:

  • adjusted arbitration,
  • allowed the commissioner to relax enforcement of the debt-service rule – the rule that I wrote the Atlanta Braves violated for two years –  to allow teams to borrow money to prevent serious financial problems
  • adjusted the luxury tax threshold calculation and percentages. Adjusting the tax essentially means those over the threshold for full contracts will pay, but it would be a percentage of the actual payroll

We don’t know what negotiators said behind closed doors, but it appears Tony Clark and crew were so thrilled with their service time victory, they didn’t read the whole document, specifically the paragraph that said things would change if fans weren’t able to attend games.

Now the MLBPA appears ready to fall on its sword over the paragraph they liked while claiming the other paragraph doesn’t apply.

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