The Compromise To Save Baseball.

After the NHl announced their playoff format to resume the season by early July, and with the NBA and NFL looking to comeback on the horizon. MLB is on the hot seat to decide a plan for the 2020 baseball season.

The MLBPA sent a new proposal to MLB in order to get the season in motion. An 114 game season would be played from June 30 – Oct 31. The players have agreed to an expanded playoff for not only this season but next, which would boost T.V. revenue. Teams can defer salaries if no postseason is played. If a player does not want to participate, they are allowed to opt out.

With a shortened season players have agreed to take a prorated pay cut, with the players at the top having a higher percentage taken out. To go to that extent I feel the players want to just get back on the field, even if it is at a reduced salary. Mike Trout one of the highest paid players in the league could be looking at an over 80% pay cut.

Owners can cry that they might be losing money due to fans not being at the games, but with the added playoff teams and increased T.V. revenue due to more games the owners will be fine, just not make as much as they should have this year.

I feel it is in the best interest of the owners to come to a compromise with the MLBPA for the sake of baseball and it’s fans. Some of the die hards won’t be able to stomach no 2020 season while all other sports resume. As a new season ticket member with the Tampa Bay Rays, I would definitely tune in to every game they play on T.V., at this point it’s better than nothing. It would really piss me off if Rays fans get no baseball this year just because the owners wouldn’t budge a little bit. The community is already a little salty on the Rays ownership anyway so no baseball would definitely be a bad look.

The two sides need to come up with some kind of agreement by the end of the week. It’s already June and with all the health protocols they have to put in place, having the meat of your season played in August up against every other sport would be bad for baseball. With everything going on in the world a little Rays baseball could be the bright spot in our day that the community needs.