ATLANTA – As MLB commissioner Rob Manfred looks to improve competitive balance in the league, Tony Clark, the executive director of the MLB Players Association, made his position on the possibility of a salary cap abundantly clear on Tuesday.
“This is institutionalized collusion,” Clark said. “That’s what a salary cap is.”
Manfred and Clark separately spoke to members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America hours before Tuesday’s All-Star Game. They touched on a variety of topics, including the possibility of a lockout after baseball’s labor deal expires on Dec. 1, 2026.
Baseball is the only North American sport that does not have a salary cap, largely because the players’ union has remained unified and steadfast in its opposition, while MLB owners have continued to push for it several times since the 1970s. Their most recent serious push for a salary cap was in 1994, when the sport’s economics led to a player’s strike and the cancellation of that year’s World Series.
“A cap is not about a partnership. A cap is not about growing the game,” Clark said. “That’s not what a cap is about. As has been offered publicly, a cap is about franchise values and profits. That’s what a cap is about. If there are ways that we need to improve the existing system to polish some of the rough edges that otherwise exist, we have made proposals to do that. We will continue to make proposals to do that, and believe that that’s the best way to go.”
Even though top leaders in the players’ union have publicly stated that Manfred is pushing for a salary cap as he meets with teams for the third straight year, the commissioner denied that notion on Tuesday.
“When I talk to the players, I don’t try to convince them that a salary cap system would be a good thing,” Manfred said. “Literally, what I say to them is, I identify a problem in the media business and explain to them that owners need to change to address that problem.
“I then identify a second problem that we need to work together. And that is that there are fans, and a lot of our markets who feel like we have a competitive balance problem.”
The Mets’ payroll is only surpassed by the Dodgers among the MLB ranks. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
“I’ve never used the word salary within one of cap. What I do say to them is, in addressing this competitive issue that’s real, you should think about whether this system is the perfect system from a player’s perspective. My only goal there is not to convince them of one system or another, but is to convince them that everybody going to the table with an open mind to try to address a problem that’s fan-driven, leads to a better collective bargaining process and a better outcome.”
Manfred has expressed concern over the way fans view the disparity in payrolls and revenues across MLB. The New York Mets’ payroll ($332 million), bankrolled by the richest owner in the sport, Steve Cohen, is the second-highest in MLB behind the Los Angeles Dodgers ($341 million). On the complete other end of the spectrum this season are the Miami Marlins, with a payroll of $67 million.
The commissioner has maintained that fans of small-market teams, like the Pittsburgh Pirates, view the apparent lack of equality as unfair, because someone like Cohen, who has a net worth north of $21 billion, can spend his unlimited resources to build a better team, while other clubs don’t have the same financial flexibility to improve their rosters or even keep their star players when they reach free agency.
It’s important to note that, since MLB is a private business, teams are not required to share their finances with the public. As such, the players’ union believes that teams have the money, but they choose not to spend it.
“A salary cap, historically, has limited contract guarantees associated,” Clarke said. “Literally, [it] حفر لاعب واحد ضد الآخر. وهذا ما نشاركه في كثير من الأحيان مع اللاعبين كنظام نهائي غير تنافسي.
“إنه لا يكافئ التميز. إنه يقوضه من وجهة نظر تنظيمية. ولهذا السبب لا يتعلق الأمر بالتوازن التنافسي. إنه لا يتعلق بالإنصاف مقابل لا.
“لا توجد أوهام من العظمة هنا فيما يتعلق بما يستحق السمع وما هو الاهتمام من الجانب الآخر يبدو. ونتيجة لذلك ، يتم إخبار اللاعبين بنفس القدر”.
استنادًا إلى المدى الذي يبعده الجانبين ، قبل حوالي 16 شهرًا من انتهاء صفقة العمل ، يعد هذا مؤشراً قوياً على أن هذا قد يكون التفاوض الجماعي الأكثر عدوانية في لعبة البيسبول منذ 1994-1995 ، عندما تكلف مباريات الدوري في الجدول الزمني. على الرغم من وجود تأمين عندما انتهت صفقة العمل السابقة في ديسمبر 2021 ، ونتيجة لذلك ، تأخر تدريب الربيع في عام 2022 ، وتوصل الدوري والاتحاد إلى صفقة في مسيرة دون تفويت أي مباريات.
وقال كلارك: “قد نجلس على طاولة ، وقد نجد أنفسنا في توقف العمل في الساعة 12:01 ، 1 ديسمبر من العام المقبل”. “[Players] يستعدون لذلك مع الأمل في أن هذا ليس هو الحال بالفعل “.
ديشا ثوسار يغطي بيسبول الدوري الرئيسي كمراسل وكاتب عمود في Fox Sports. سبق لها أن غطت Mets كمراسل فوز لصحيفة نيويورك ديلي نيوز. ابنة المهاجرين الهنود ، نشأت ديشا على لونغ آيلاند وتعيش الآن في كوينز. اتبعها على Twitter على Deeshathosar.
مُستَحسَن
Get more from the Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
