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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Dec 4, 2021 1:24:15 GMT -5
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Dec 4, 2021 3:46:22 GMT -5
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Dec 4, 2021 10:20:41 GMT -5
Baseball’s lockout has changed temperature of Hot Stove season By Michael Silverman Globe Staff,Updated December 4, 2021, 59 minutes ago
Enough about the players and owners — What’s the impact of the Major League Baseball lockout on the average fan?
If it lasts long enough, the ultimate punishment would be that the 2022 season would be wiped out: No spring training, no regular season, no playoffs, and we’re on to 2023. Related: Sunday Baseball Notes: Baseball’s lockout frenzy leaves a lot of winners and losers
Before any fan has to face that grim prospect, the lockout imposed by commissioner Rob Manfred and the owners has already created ripples in the following areas:
Hot stove season over and out
Unless your team was part of the free agent and trading frenzy leading up to the lockout deadline, you’ll have all winter to wonder about your team’s transaction and improvement plans.
The rumor mill will be mothballed. Brace yourself instead for baseball stories starring the CBT, revenue sharing, service time manipulation, and strongly worded communiques from owners and players.
MLB will tell its story differently
The league’s media presence — MLB Network, MLB.com, and the 30 team websites — is large, and because it is owned primarily by a sports league that has locked out its primary content source, it has to change how it covers itself.
The scrubbing of headshots and the new faceless avatars that grace rosters on MLB websites have received a great deal of attention. The switch was not punitive, according to the league, but done to comply with federal labor laws as they pertain to the league’s use of the name, image, and likeness of its players.
“Every action we are taking is at the advice of legal counsel per the National Labor Relations Act,” said an MLB spokesperson.
Per the league, its network personalities and writers will cover breaking news, including CBA developments. In some instances, discussions of current players can take place, but stories and commentary will not be focused on player-centric content such as a profile of how Bryce Harper is spending his offseason or Fernando Tatis highlights.
The Baseball Hall of Fame election talk will likely experience a bump in airtime. The network will also emphasize its archival programming, such as airing classic games. Those broadcast rights are governed by the league’s copyright ownership and not the expired collective bargaining agreement, the league said.
It’s still relatively early in the Bruins season at NESN, owned mostly by the Red Sox’ parent company, Fenway Sports Group. Still, Red Sox player likenesses have mostly been scrubbed on-air and online, a NESN spokesperson said.
Sale of player merchandise continues
A Xander Bogaerts all-weather cornhole bag set and Chris Sale can cooler are still on sale at the Red Sox’ website. Like prior TV programming, the league said that products featuring players’ names, images, and likenesses will still be available, with those products holding NIL rights independent from the expired CBA.
Ticket sales continue with different marketing
The Red Sox won’t be able to market the return of Jackie Bradley Jr. or feature Sale, Bogaerts, or anyone else on the team in order to drum up interest in tickets to spring training and regular-season games.
Instead, generic shots of Fenway Park show up on the Red Sox’ online ticket site, where ticket sales are taking place as scheduled, with Sox Pax tickets going on sale later this month.
Single-game tickets will go on sale next month, a month later than previous years, but the Red Sox said that the timing is a result of lessons learned from the pandemic and not from the lockout.
Red Sox front office employees will continue to work as usual, even if it’s not business as usual.
Boston Baseball Writers dinner canceled
Canceled last year by COVID-19, the 82nd edition won’t take place — a head table of only baseball scribes might not create a ticket stampede. The decision was made jointly by the Boston BBWAA chapter and its dinner partner, The Sports Museum.
“It would have been nice to have a dinner this year after having missed last year, but even if the lockout is lifted in January we wouldn’t have had time to pull it together,” said The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey, the chapter chair. She cited lingering concerns over COVID-19 as also factoring into the decision.
Players will receive their 2021 awards in pregame ceremonies — pending the season.
It’s still unclear if the lockout will force the cancellation of the Red Sox’ Winter Weekend at MGM Springfield casino. That event is scheduled to take place each year after the writers’ dinner.
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Post by scrappyunderdog on Dec 4, 2021 12:34:06 GMT -5
I have gut feeling that neither side is locked into a strike, but want to look good.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Dec 7, 2021 3:33:04 GMT -5
Collective Bargaining Issues: Expanded Playoffs
By Anthony Franco | December 6, 2021 at 11:50pm CDT
Last week, we covered what figures to be one of the top priorities for the MLB Players Association during collective bargaining discussions — alterations to the service time structure. Today, we’ll look at what should be one of the most important issues for Major League Baseball: potential postseason expansion.
An expanded playoff has looked to be a key issue for the league for quite some time, as MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes discussed in January with labor advisor Eugene Freedman. More playoff teams simply means more games for MLB to offer television partners — deals which have proven extremely profitable for the league in recent years. Under past collective bargaining agreements, playoff TV revenue has gone exclusively to the league. The creation of additional rounds to sell to FOX, Turner or any other broadcast partner would figure to provide the league and its owners another windfall.
The league and Players Association already agreed to one playoff expansion, bumping to 16 teams during the 2020 truncated season. That was a one-off agreement, but commissioner Rob Manfred publicly voiced support for a permanent playoff expansion last year. Manfred has previously floated 14 teams as the league’s ideal number, and Jesse Rogers of ESPN reported last week that MLB has had a 14-team playoff format on the table during its early collective bargaining proposals.
According to Rogers, MLB’s proposal would contain seven postseason teams from each of the American and National Leagues. In addition to the three division winners, each league would feature four Wild Card clubs. The team with the best record in each league would receive a first-round bye, while the remaining six teams in each league would participate in a three-game Wild Card series.
Under MLB’s vision, the two division winners in each league that don’t receive the bye would choose their Wild Card series opponents. The division winner with the second-best record would choose its opponent from the bottom three Wild Card clubs; the remaining division winner would have its pick of the bottom two Wild Card teams still available; the remaining Wild Card winners would face one another. The higher-seeded team in each league would host all three games of the opening series.
While potential postseason expansion looks to be an obvious positive for MLB, its effects on the players could be more mixed. The introduction of a playoff round would have a direct financial benefit for some players. Under the terms of previous CBAs, players on postseason teams received varying shares (dependent on team finish) of gate revenues in October. More playoff games would mean more gate revenues, which would stand to benefit some players each year.
That alone doesn’t seem enough to convince the players to wholeheartedly embrace postseason expansion. For one, the league’s interest in larger playoffs is greater than that of the MLBPA, giving the union a powerful bargaining chip to possibly extract concessions on other issues (i.e. service time structure, luxury tax thresholds) of more import to the players. And the MLBPA no doubt has concerns about playoff expansion’s potential indirect effects on team spending habits.
A bigger playoff field inherently means a greater possibility for every team to make the postseason. With increased odds could come complacency. A club with an already-strong roster may not be as motivated to improve under a 14-team field as they’d be under the current system, reasoning that they’re already comfortable with their current odds. Removing the Wild Card game reduces the incentive for teams to win their divisions, since division winners and Wild Card clubs alike would find themselves in an opening round three-game series (although the potential bye for the top seed would increase the incentive for clubs to pursue the league’s best record).
That’s particularly true in MLB, a league with a comparatively high level of variance in small samples. Playoff series in MLB are less predictable than they are in leagues like the NBA and NFL, a trend reinforced in 2021 when the playoff team with the worst regular season record (the Braves) won the World Series. Based on that high level of playoff volatility, many teams could be content to make the postseason — even as one of the lower seeds — and simply hope for a hot stretch once there. Lowering the bar to entry could make it easier for organizations with already strong big league rosters to be less active in free agency, an obvious concern for the players union.
MLB could counter that possibility would be offset by higher desire to improve among mid-tier clubs. After all, that small sample volatility gives teams with even average or marginally above-average rosters an opportunity to go on a lengthy playoff run. Improving from, say, a 76-win roster to an 84-win roster would be significantly more impactful under this vision than it is under the current system.
Still, the MLBPA has seemingly had reservations about the competitive incentives that come with potential playoff expansion. That’s reflected in their counterproposal, as Rogers reported that the union’s most recent offer involves a 12-team postseason, not MLB’s desired 14 clubs. Details on the MLBPA’s offer aren’t clear, although Rogers noted that proposal involved a significant restructuring that would see each league modified from the current three division setup to two divisions apiece (one containing eight clubs, one with seven).
With the MLBPA already showing openness to a 12-team playoff, it’d be a surprise if the next CBA didn’t involve some form of expansion. Keeping the 10-team status quo seems unlikely, since MLB would presumably prefer a 12-team setup to the current system even if the MLBPA doesn’t go for a 14-team tournament. Union amenability to playoff expansion could go a long way towards landing more favorable outcomes in some other areas the MLBPA finds more pressing.
As for fans, playoff expansion seems largely to be a matter of aesthetic preference. Some will naturally recoil at the idea, which would likely eventually result in a new mark for worst regular season record for a World Series champion (currently held by the 83-78 Cardinals of 2006). MLB has traditionally had a smaller postseason field than other major leagues, a point of great appeal for some fans. On the other hand, some viewers are likely to relish a bigger field. Greater opportunity to reach the postseason means more teams remaining in contention. That’s likely to keep more fanbases invested in August and September each season, which will be a feature for many observers.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Dec 7, 2021 3:52:22 GMT -5
Examining the issues in the MLB standoff: Preserving competitive integrity By Michael Silverman Globe Staff,Updated December 6, 2021, 3:12 p.m.
First in a series examining the key issues in baseball’s CBA negotiations.
The notion that the competitive integrity of Major League Baseball is out of whack sits near or at the top of the players’ wish list for changes in the next collective bargaining agreement.
The idea of owners and teams “tanking” — not trying to win in order to gain a spot high in the draft — chafes at players’ competitive instincts as much as they see it as an excuse for teams to pay players less.
The three chief routes taken by the players to combat tanking are revenue sharing, the draft, and certain aspects of the competitive balance tax.
The idea behind revenue sharing — nearly half of local revenues trickle down — is for bigger markets to help out smaller markets unable to compete fairly in the free agent market. Players believe those dollars are not being put toward improving the on-field product. They want to reduce the amount of revenue sharing by $100 million.
MLB is not interested in any changes to revenue sharing, the union says, and commissioner Rob Manfred offered clues as to why.
“Taking $100 million away from teams that are already struggling to put a competitive product on the field, I don’t see how that’s helpful,” said Manfred last week. “Most people who understand the game realize that in our smaller markets it’s a lot harder to win than it is in our bigger markets.”
The union’s chief negotiator, Bruce Meyer, said, “We’ve offered to build in advantages for small-market teams” and “we believe our proposals on revenue sharing will incentivize teams to compete.”
When it comes to changes to the amateur draft, the operating principle in dispute is that there would not be a so-called “race to the bottom” for multiple seasons in a row by teams without hope if winning that race would not result in the guarantee of coveted high draft picks. That’s the multiyear playbook executed by the Astros and Cubs over the last decade. The union sees prolonged rebuilding efforts as an exploitation of draft rules in the guise of a payroll-reduction excuse.
MLB has responded with an NBA-style lottery involving the three worst teams each year. The union would want more teams involved, with the Associated Press reporting it wanted the eight bottom finishers to go in that lottery.
The union wants disincentives for teams that lose for multiple years in a row and to build incentives with draft rewards such as a compensation pick for small-market teams that improve their on-field performance by winning more.
When it comes to the CBT and the draft, the current setup punishes a team with a payroll over $250 million by moving its draft position back 10 spots. The union wants to eliminate that clause for competitive reasons as much as for the salary drag it creates. The union is not proposing eliminating financial penalties for exceeding tax thresholds, it only wants to eliminate the non-financial penalties.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Dec 7, 2021 18:35:53 GMT -5
Examining the issues in the MLB standoff: Compensating younger players By Michael Silverman Globe Staff,Updated December 7, 2021, 59 minutes ago
(Second in a series examining the key issues in baseball’s CBA negotiations.)
They say youth is wasted on the young. Maybe so, but it’s certainly not wasted on Major League Baseball owners.
Over the course of the last two collective bargaining agreements — a period that coincided with a rise in value-centric analytics — teams discovered that not only are younger players generally providing as much on-field value as older players but they are also a source of cheaper labor.
The economic system is working in their favor, which is precisely why the Players Association, also cognizant that revenues have grown faster than salaries, is proposing a slew of changes geared toward redistributing payroll dollars to its younger members.
The areas of focus are a higher minimum wage, fewer avenues to manipulate service time, and a reduction in the time it takes to become eligible for arbitration and free agency.
It appears that any agreement will see a bump in the minimum salary, which topped out last year at $570,500. The owners have offered an increase that’s less than what the union wants.
In any deal, closing that gap will look like child’s play compared with the other matters, with the owners not keen on any service-time reductions.
Currently, more than three-quarters of players become eligible for arbitration after three years of major league service, with the remaining players reaching eligibility after two. The union would like all players to be eligible after two years. Related: Once the lockout ends, Red Sox will have a to-do list to attend to
The owners proposed eliminating arbitration, replacing it with a performance-based wage scale.
Currently, players become eligible for free agency after six years of service. The players propose that for the first year of the next CBA, free agency is determined by six years of service or reaching the age of 29½. In the second and third years, five years of service or being 30½ years old would mean free agency. In years four and five, it would be for five years and back to players at least 29½ years old.
MLB’s counterproposal was to allow players to reach free agency only at the age of 29½, without any service-time requirements.
The players have no interest in the owners’ service-time-free model of free agency, since it could stretch the time a player signed at a young age is under team control to more than a decade.
To reduce service-time manipulation, one idea pitched by the players is that two-year arbitration can be earned by players who win honors such as Rookie of the Year, MVP, Cy Young, or All-Star designation.
“[The owners] will not agree to anything that would allow players to have additional ways to get service time, to combat service-time manipulation,” said lead union negotiator Bruce Meyer. “They told us on all those things, they will not agree.”
Commissioner Rob Manfred cited competitive pressures in smaller markets for why MLB is resistant to change.
“I think we already have teams in smaller markets that struggle to compete,” said Manfred. “Shortening the period of time that they control players makes it even harder for them to compete.
“We don’t see that making it earlier, available earlier, we don’t see that as a positive.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Dec 8, 2021 3:40:42 GMT -5
Major League Rule 5 Draft Expected To Take Place After Lockout
By Anthony Franco | December 7, 2021 at 10:23pm CDT
The 2021-22 major league Rule 5 draft is expected to take place shortly after the signing of the next collective bargaining agreement, tweets JJ Cooper of Baseball America. Originally scheduled to take place this week, the major league Rule 5 draft was postponed indefinitely as part of the leaguewide transaction freeze once MLB instituted a lockout upon the expiration of the previous CBA on December 1.
Still, it’s a noteworthy development that it’s expected to happen at all. The Rule 5 had seemingly been on thin ice, with reports last week initially suggesting it’d be canceled entirely. Instead, it now seems the draft is on track to happen at some point. That’s a continuation of a more than century-old trend, as the Rule 5 has taken place each offseason since 1920.
For those unfamiliar, the big league Rule 5 draft is an acquisition process designed to give opportunities to players who might be buried on the depth chart in their current organizations. Players with either four or five years of professional experience (the exact threshold depends upon the player’s age at signing their first contract) have to either be added to their club’s 40-man roster or exposed in the Rule 5.
If they’re left exposed, they’re subject to selection by other organizations. If selected, players must remain on the active roster or major league injured list for the entirety of the upcoming season. Otherwise, they’re made available to the rest of the league and then — if not acquired by another team — offered back to their original club. After a full season on the big league roster or injured list — including a minimum of 90 days on the active roster — the player becomes a full-fledged member of his new team.
There is also a minor league phase to the Rule 5 draft, in which eligible players not included among an organization’s protected Triple-A group can be selected by another club. The minor league phase, which does not contain any roster restrictions for the acquiring teams, is scheduled to proceed tomorrow. Players selected in the minor league Rule 5 draft will not be added to teams’ 40-man rosters, so that process will continue in spite of the lockout affecting 40-man players.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Dec 8, 2021 7:45:51 GMT -5
MLB lockout guide: What’s happening, why can’t teams make moves and when will it all end? Updated: Dec. 08, 2021, 6:00 a.m. | Published: Dec. 08, 2021, 6:00 a.m.
By Chris Cotillo | ccotillo@MassLive.com
The hot stove has now been cold for almost a week -- and there’s no end in sight. Major League Baseball’s lockout is raging on, much to the chagrin of fans who enjoyed the early free-agent frenzy and longed for more pre-holiday action.
Baseball’s first work stoppage in 26 years is unfortunate and annoying, but it might end up being little more than a nuisance if the sides (surprisingly) reach a deal in short order. Only when games start getting canceled and the beginning of the regular season is delayed does the lockout become truly catastrophic for the sport.
For those wondering why there’s no baseball news clogging your Twitter feeds these days, here’s a quick primer on the lockout and what it means for the sport:
What does a “lockout” entail?
The collective bargaining agreement between baseball’s owners and players expired at midnight Thursday before the sides were able to come to a new agreement -- and they didn’t get particularly close. As a negotiating tactic, the league locked out the players, effectively pausing all league business for the foreseeable future. For all intents and purposes, the entire baseball world (at least on the major-league side) has been shut down.
Can teams make moves during the lockout?
Not major-league moves. Transactions are frozen the same way they were when spring training was suspended at the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020 -- with some exceptions. No trades or signings involving players in the union (anyone who appeared on a big-league roster last season) are allowed. Teams can sign minor-league free agents and make minor-league trades, but that’s about it.
Any major-leaguer who was a free agent as of Dec. 2 will remain one until the lockout ends. Three players who were designated for assignment in the days leading up to the lockout will be in DFA limbo until things are resolved, too.
What other rules are in place?
During the lockout, there is no communication allowed between players and team employees. So, in the world of the Red Sox, Chaim Bloom and Alex Cora can’t talk to any players or see them until things are resolved. Considering it’s the off-season, this is not the end of the world, but it’s still not ideal. It’s obviously advantageous for key team decision-makers to be as up to date on their players as possible.
Additionally, team employees have been told not to speak publicly about 40-man players for the time being. So unless it’s about an obscure topic, general managers and field managers won’t be heard from for a while. Players technically can talk, but early indications are that they’d prefer not to, considering the tension that currently exists.
The lockout is particularly tricky for injured players who cannot consult with team doctors or trainers. For example, new Red Sox lefty James Paxton is recovering from Tommy John surgery but can’t be in touch with the team about his recovery until things get resolved. Other concerns, as reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan, include players losing access to therapy or mental health programs and players from Latin America having visa issues. Furloughs by teams are also possible.
Were any off-season events canceled?
Yes -- the big one. The major-league portion of the Winter Meetings, which were supposed to be held in Orlando this week, were canceled for the second straight year. Minor League Baseball is still gathering for its annual convention.
The deadline to exchange arbitration figures, which was set for Jan. 14, is now TBD. So are the dates of any actual hearings (these usually happen in February). The major-league Rule 5 draft has been postponed, though the minor-league portion is happening Wednesday.
The voting for the Baseball Hall of Fame will go on, though. Those results will be announced Jan. 25.
Will there be any Red Sox news during the lockout?
There should actually be a couple things, even if the club can’t alter its major-league roster at all. Minor-league free agency is open and the Sox should be busy, even after adding outfielders Rob Refsnyder and Christin Stewart as well as reliever Michael Feliz. The club also has to fill two coaching vacancies (first base coach and assistant hitting coach) and a managerial vacancy at Triple-A Worcester. Coaching and front office roles are fair game at this point.
League-wide, the big news will be coming out of New York and Oakland, as the Mets and A’s are both looking for new managers. Red Sox bench coach Will Venable has interviewed with the A’s, so there’s at least some chance the Sox will lose another key member of their coaching staff after the departures of Tim Hyers and Tom Goodwin earlier this winter.
What are the issues being discussed?
There’s a lot of them, and most involve money. As Evan Drellich of The Athletic reported last week, the most divisive issues include revenue sharing, luxury tax rules and how many years it will take before a player reaches arbitration. Other things, such as an expanded playoff field, a draft lottery, the minimum salary for players and changes to the free agency system, are all in play. On-field rule changes like a pitch clock or the banning of shifts do not appear to be on the table at this point.
Lots of proposals will reach the public in the coming months, so it’s important to remember that only a select few (the rare ones that make sense for both sides) will actually come to fruition. There will be plenty of outlandish ideas that don’t. From a fan’s perspective, the most impactful change will likely come in the form of playoff expansion, though the exact format still needs to be agreed upon.
When will it be resolved?
This is the multi-billion dollar question. It’s unlikely an agreement will be reached by the end of the year, but the industry consensus seems to be that a deal could be struck in late January or early February, in time for teams to report to spring training on time. Generally, there doesn’t seem to be widespread fear about the season -- or even spring training -- being delayed. But interestingly, some in Las Vegas think otherwise.
OddsChecker, an odds comparison site, recently set odds about the season beginning by March 31. According to the folks there, it’s actually quite unlikely that the season begins on time. OddsChecker gave -250 odds (or an implied 71.4% chance) that the start of the season will be delayed while giving +170 odds (or an implied 37% chance that the season starts on time).
“This is a tricky bet. MLB and the MLBPA are so far apart on the core economic questions that it feels like nothing is going to get done. Yet, it also feels like neither side is willing to lose money by voluntarily missing games this season,” said OddsChecker spokesman Kyle Newman. “There’s a long time to go before a delayed season is a serious debate, but it’ll be in the back of everyone’s mind until an agreement is announced.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Dec 8, 2021 14:08:36 GMT -5
James Smyth @jamessmyth621 · 39m We hear a lot about MLB lack of "competitive balance" and "parity" compared to other sports leagues, but I don't think it's true
"Number of teams to win a title since X" isn't enough in my opinion, but going deeper shows it's still not an issue relative to NFL NBA NHL (thread)
A common refrain against the "no parity in baseball" crowd
Won Championship Since 2000 MLB 15/30 (50%) NFL 12/32 (38%) NBA 10/30 (33%) NHL 12/31 (39%) (no Kraken for these purposes)
OK, but I don't think a one-off title validates the argument, so let's go a little further
Playoff appearances (remember MLB has the most exclusive postseason)
Made Playoffs Since 2015 MLB 26/30 NFL 31/32 (no Jets) NBA 29/30 (no Kings) NHL 30/31 (no Sabres)
Made Playoffs Since 2010 MLB 29/30 (no Mariners) NFL 32/32 NBA 29/30 (no Kings) NHL 31/31
Pretty close
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Dec 8, 2021 14:09:18 GMT -5
James Smyth @jamessmyth621 · 35m OK how about making multiple trips to the postseason
Made Multiple Playoffs Since 2015 MLB 19/30 (63%) NFL 20/32 (63%) NBA 25/30 (83%) NHL 28/31 (90%)
Made Multiple Playoffs Since 2010 MLB 26/30 (87%) NFL 26/32 (81%) NBA 28/30 (93%) NHL 31/31 (100%)
On par with NFL
Similar vein...winning your division (NFL has smallest divisions, bigger in NBA/NHL)
Won Division Since 2015 MLB 19/30 (63%) NFL 23/32 (72%) NBA 19/30 (63%) NHL 17/31 (55%)
Won Division Since 2010 MLB 25/30 (83%) NFL 24/32 (75%) NBA 23/30 (77%) NHL 24/31 (77%)
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Dec 8, 2021 14:10:29 GMT -5
James Smyth @jamessmyth621 · 33m These last few are for reaching various rungs of postseason
Reached Final 8 Since 2015 MLB 23/30 (77%) NFL 24/32 (75%) NBA 22/30 (73%) NHL 24/31 (77%)
Reached Final 8 Since 2010 MLB 29/30 (97%) (no Mariners) NFL 27/32 (84%) NBA 26/30 (87%) NHL 28/31 (90%)
James Smyth @jamessmyth621 · 32m Reached Final 4 Since 2015 MLB 14/30 (47%) NFL 17/32 (53%) NBA 15/30 (50%) NHL 17/31 (55%)
Reached Final 4 Since 2010 MLB 19/30 (63%) NFL 23/32 (72%) NBA 20/30 (67%) NHL 22/31 (71%)
Close, maybe off by 1 or 2 teams, and that's with a smaller postseason
Reached Championship Round Since 2015 MLB 10/30 (33%) NFL 9/32 (28%) NBA 7/30 (23%) NHL 11/31 (35%)
Reached Championship Round Since 2010 MLB 14/30 (47%) NFL 14/32 (44%) NBA 11/30 (37%) NHL 16/31 (52%)
Similar to the other leagues
Long story short, salary caps are not the key to competitive balance and parity, and the lack of one in MLB is not dragging down the sport
OK...that's all (the end)
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Dec 8, 2021 14:15:04 GMT -5
Examining the issues in MLB standoff: Competitive balance tax By Michael Silverman Globe Staff,Updated December 8, 2021, 2 hours ago
Third in a series examining the key issues in baseball’s CBA negotiations.
There is no salary cap in Major League Baseball.
But the closest thing to it, the competitive balance tax — which requires teams to pay financial and non-financial penalties for surpassing payroll thresholds — has turned into a sticking point that will require more compromise.
The last collective bargaining agreement featured a base level of team payroll limits starting at $195 million in year one of the deal, followed by gradual increases maxing at $210 million last year. If a team exceeded those figures, a tax on the difference between the actual payroll and the payroll threshold was imposed at a rate of 20, 30, and 50 percent, depending on how many times the threshold was cleared.
In addition, there were two separate surcharge thresholds — the first ranging between $215 million and $230 million, the second between $235 million and $250 million in payroll — where payroll-poppers were taxed at rates ranging between 32 and 95 percent.
Surcharge offenders also faced a significant drop in the draft order.
This setup, also called the “luxury tax,” began in 1997, implemented in an attempt to even the spending abilities of large- and small-market teams — hence the “competitive balance” moniker.
Instead of balance, the union sees a faux salary cap, the scales weighted to punish teams willing to spend what it takes to build a winning roster.
Though the CBT is baked into the next CBA, the union wants to raise all the thresholds. According to the Associated Press, the union initially asked for the threshold in the first year to be set at $245 million.
The union has not asked for changes to teams’ financial penalties, but wants the non-financial ones, such as the draft drop, eliminated.
One of MLB’s responses in the summer to the union’s desire to change the CBT was a creative first-ever $100 million payroll “floor,” or minimum, for every team to meet. The creativity, however, was seen by the players as two-faced, since the floor would be joined by a new first threshold of $180 million — a 14 percent decrease from $210 million — and a new first tax rate of 25 percent — a 25 percent increase from 20 percent.
The players rejected it.
The owners have proposed threshold increases — starting at $214 million and growing to $240 million, according to multiple reports — as well as an increase in penalties.
In Dallas last week, the players moved downward from their initial threshold proposals.
Depending on the choice and sensitivity of the measuring device used, each side can point to a degree of concession on CBT thresholds. That points to the still-murky appearance that finding a middle ground on the CBT front could pose a lower hurdle to clear than issues such as reducing service time, minimizing service-time manipulation, decreasing revenue sharing, and incentivizing winning.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Dec 8, 2021 14:17:55 GMT -5
CBA Roundtable: 4 ideas for making baseball better theScore Staff 6h ago LG Patterson / Getty
Major League Baseball's collective bargaining agreement expired last week, ending 26 years of labor peace. Once the lockout became official, commissioner Rob Manfred was quick to publish a letter to fans indicating the owners and players' union may be in for a spirited - and potentially long - negotiation for the next CBA.
It's unclear what that will look like once ratified. So, here are some ideas we'd like to see tabled: Contract term limits
This potential concession by players could help many mid-tier players, boost competitive balance, and - most importantly to the union - not hurt the earning power of too many free agents.
Suppose players agree to a seven-year cap on all contracts - free-agent deals, extensions, everything. Of the literal billions of dollars handed out before the CBA expired this winter, that would affect only Corey Seager's free-agent deal and Wander Franco's extension. Those players signed megadeals, and both earned them. But, in the grand scheme of things, those contracts represent $507 million of the $2.5 billion spent (20.28%). Nearly all of the contracts signed in one of the craziest spending sprees in baseball history would remain legal. Players like Seager and Franco would have to settle for seven-year deals, though, so hopefully, the union would structure this concession in a way that guarantees baseball's middle class more money - either through less service-time manipulation, earlier free agency, or higher base salaries.
Term limits are not a new idea - the NBA has them. NBA players' current teams can also offer one extra year on contracts; it's an incentive for players to stay with the clubs that developed them - something owners care very much about. Suppose MLB teams could offer an eighth year when re-signing or extending their own players, but with another wrinkle: Teams are only eligible to offer their players eight-year extensions if they make the playoffs in two of three consecutive seasons. That incentivizes winning in an age when four teams each lost 100 games in both of the last two full seasons.
This undoubtedly hurts the top free agents - but it could also help every other party, including fans. - Michael Bradburn New, expanded postseason format
Only 10 clubs make the MLB playoffs compared to 16 in the NBA and NHL and 14 in the NFL. Four of those MLB teams have to play do-or-die wild-card games following a grueling 162-contest regular season. The difficulty of making the MLB postseason is a problem for parity and competitiveness.
The Toronto Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners, Oakland Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies, and Cincinnati Reds all missed the 2021 playoffs despite finishing above .500. In Toronto's case, the team had a win expectancy of 99 games thanks to the fifth-best run differential in the majors. It also employed two MVP finalists and a Cy Young winner - but failed to reach the postseason. Philadelphia, meanwhile, had an MVP and a Cy Young finalist. MLB should do everything possible to make sure its biggest stars have a chance to play in its most important games.
How can two teams with 213 combined wins play in a division series? The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants were clearly the two best clubs in baseball last season but had to face each other in the NLDS. Los Angeles recorded 106 victories but needed to beat a 90-win St. Louis Cardinals squad in a wild-card contest to advance. That doesn't make much sense. MLB should implement wins-based seeding and drop the wild-card games. Could it add another two teams in each league? Could the top club get a bye past the first round? Would new rivalries develop? Fans should look to Manfred for some answers. - Tom Ruminski Draft lottery
MLB owners proposed a new addition during recent negotiations to address baseball's tanking issue: an NBA-style draft lottery. Incorporating this type of lottery - which the NBA has used successfully since 2017 - would give all non-playoff teams a mathematical chance of securing the top pick in the draft while discouraging clubs from purposely fielding sub-optimal lineups to increase their chances of securing the first overall pick.
The worst teams by regular-season record would still have the greatest chance at the top selection, but nothing would be guaranteed, adding intrigue to one of the most boring drafts in professional sports. Who doesn't love lottery machines and pingpong balls? It remains to be seen if the two sides will include such a proposal in the new CBA, according to ESPN's Jesse Rogers. But it's an intelligent way to address baseball's tanking issue and prevent another eyesore of a season from the Baltimore Orioles. - Bryan Mcwilliam Earlier free-agency eligibility
In the last round of negotiations before the lockout began, players tabled a proposal to ensure free agency after five years of service time or when a player is 29.5 years old, whichever comes first. They also asked owners to begin arbitration after two years of service time instead of three. Owners rejected both ideas, which wasn't a surprise. But it's an idea worth exploring further - for both sides.
Starting free agency earlier would allow players to earn closer to what they're worth in their prime. Players are starting their pro careers later, meaning they hit free agency closer to the start of their decline. Earlier free agency would ensure owners pay players closer to their fair value at the height of their abilities.
Another benefit of earlier free agency could be more winter frenzies. Until this year - when teams were rushing to beat the lockout clock - baseball's offseason has been stretched out; teams and players take their time finding deals, with some even waiting until spring training has started. But social media was abuzz with baseball talk during the chaotic week ahead of the lockout. If more players reach the open market earlier, it could spur more wild offseason markets in both trades and free agency, bringing more offseason attention from fans.
There hasn't been a monumental change to the basic structure of free agency since players were first granted the right in the 1970s. It's the right time to do it. - Simon Sharkey-Gotlieb
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Dec 9, 2021 14:32:36 GMT -5
Examining the issues in the MLB standoff: Expanded playoffs and on-field changes By Michael Silverman Globe Staff,Updated December 9, 2021, 2 hours ago
(Fourth in a series examining the key issues in baseball’s CBA negotiations.)
To most baseball fans, many of the points of contention between billionaire MLB owners and millionaire players play out on a privileged battleground, spoken in a dialect of financial gobbledygook.
Relief from that unrelatable tableau of taxes, wealth redistribution, and competitive integrity is here:
▪ Expanded playoffs and uniform patches.
Expanding the playoffs sits atop the owners’ wish list of changes in the collective bargaining agreement, a big reason why the players are linking their first-ever approval of it to owners approving the core economic items on the players’ wish list.
Currently, 10 teams make the playoffs, the three division winners and two wild cards in each league.
The players have proposed 12 teams playing in an unspecified format that would be different from the owners’ 14-team version.
According to the Associated Press, in the owners’ setup, there would be four wild cards per league. The division winner with the best record would get a bye to the Division Series, with the remaining six qualifiers pairing off in a best-of-three round.
The union also has signaled its OK with owners selling space on their uniforms for corporate-sponsored patches.
The union believes that the ad patches and expanded playoffs will be worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually to the owners.
▪ On-field changes
MLB’s stated desire to improve pace of play and increase offense has led to an increasing number of experiments with pitch clocks, robotic umpires, defensive-shift limits, and larger bases.
To date, owners have not proposed any specific rule changes to players, who would want to review data on how any changes would help baseball.
Ideally, owners want players to sign off on changes rather than have commissioner Rob Manfred implement them without player approval. The owners to date have only proposed including the players in the on-field change process.
“We are in the process of still evaluating changes, and frankly, based on the discussions at the table, we saw it as another contentious issue and tried to put it to one side in an effort to get to an agreement on the theory that we could deal with it mid-term of the next agreement,” said Manfred.
▪ Universal DH
The owners have agreed to incorporate the DH into the National League, Manfred confirmed last week. It’s not known whether that is conditional, like the players’ approval of expanded playoffs, but the movement by each side represents concessions.
In the past, owners have likened the creation of 15 more NL jobs to revenue from expanded playoffs. The players see the revenue from the latter exceeding the DH salary bumps.
All of the above are tangible, concrete issues that constitute a skirmish compared with the main theater of operations in which the fight over core economic issues is occurring.
“At the end of the day, it’s about the substance,” said Manfred. “We’re here, they’re there. We need to find a way to bridge the gap.”
Said Players Association executive director Tony Clark, “At the end of the day, a deal is going to get done and the game and the industry is going to move forward.”
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