Atlanta Braves: 162 games or bust?

Fans would prefer 162 games of Atlanta Braves baseball, but battle lines are being drawn up against that.

Before we get specifically to the Atlanta Braves, let’s take a look back at some history.

In the 19th century, the United States was continuing its Westward expansion in an effort to build a coast-to-coast country — the fulfillment of the “Manifest Destiny” belief that was popular in American culture of the time.

By the time the early 1840’s rolled around, that expansion focused on the Oregon Territory and specifically its dimensions.

The British controlled Canada and wanted to claim the Pacific coast all the way down to the 42nd parallel — effectively cutting the US off from the ocean (since below that, California was still in possession of Mexico at the time).  The Americans wanted to claim everything from there (42° latitude) all the way up to where the Russians claimed Alaska:  54°40′ N. latitude.

Hence a slogan developed:  “54/40 or fight!”

In the end, there was no fight:  the Brits and Americans came together with a compromise that became codified as the 1846 Oregon Treaty that established the US/Canadian border at 49° N latitude while carving out the whole of Vancouver Island for Canada.

Why this bit of history on a baseball blog?  Because it feels like the MLB Players Association seems to be gearing up for their own mantra… something akin to “One-sixty-two or strike“.

He hasn’t been the only one to make such a statement.  Various players are definitely making the same case:  they want a full season… with full salary and benefits.

From the owner’s side… there hasn’t exactly been a lot of discussion.  And then there’s this bit of news (theAthletic, subscription required):

"Major League Baseball is bracing for a reduction on a deal it is nearing with ESPN, sources with knowledge of the situation told The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.MLB’s previous deal with ESPN was an eight-year, $5.6 billion contract worth $700 million per year. The agreement under discussion would be for seven years and approximately $3.85 billion, reducing the average annual value to about $550 million per year, sources said."

A difference of $150 million per season, divided up among the 30 MLB clubs, represents a revenue decrease of $5 million per year.  In the grand scheme of things, it’s not a lot of money (they’d still get $18.333 million annually), but it’s just another loss that each club would have to absorb.

The bigger loss, of course, is one of the revenue from ticket sales and stadium concessions, said to be in the 30-35% range as a portion of all expected/normal revenue sources.

The owners had players over a barrel last year between the botched pro-ration ‘agreement’ and the calendar all working against the union.  This year, the lines seem more clear — depending on the intervention of government authorities.

In short, 162 games is more-or-less required by the Collective Bargaining Agreement:  “During the term of this Agreement, each Club shall be scheduled to play 162 games during each championship season.”

Ownership was initially insisting on all players getting vaccinated.  Players resisted this, arguing that they managed to get through the 60-game schedule without that, while successfully working their way through the health and safety protocols that MLB imposed.

Gradually, the teams appear to be coming to terms with this reality — which could also be impacting some of the choices they are making in terms of player signings, trades, and such.  The Indians, Cubs, and Reds have already been doing so:  other teams (Pirates?  Rockies?) may follow suit as well.

For sure:  the MLB franchises do not wish to be involved in the kinds of losses that they faced in 2020 over multiple years, so they will be looking at any path possible to delay the start of the regular season or at least to reduce costs significantly.

This is why, according to the latest information at MLB Trade Rumors, 212 free agents remain unsigned to date vs. just 79 that are signed… a scant 5 weeks before pitchers and catchers are set to report.

This is all terrible timing for the Atlanta Braves, who spent heavily in 2020 in an effort to “go for it” and still has a wide-open window to contend… if they can find enough capital resources to fill their roster holes solidly.

“One-sixty-two or strike”?  It probably won’t come to that… but do be aware that the animosity between these two sides is not abating one iota.