By @MarkKnudson41
The clock is churning toward December 2nd, when the Major League Baseball owners are expected to impose a lockout of the Player’s union while Collective Bargaining talks between the two sides drag on. The current agreement is set to expire at midnight on December 1st. Without anything to lose, a few dollars to save, and the two sides reportedly not close to hammering out an agreement, the MLB owners have no reason not to halt the business of baseball while the two sides continue to hotly contest issues like competitive balance, service time manipulation and of course, sky high salaries.
Most fans won’t notice – or care very much – that team facilities will be closed and things like trades and free agent signings will come to a halt. If and when a new agreement is reached, the doors and the checkbooks will fly open once again and all will be well in the eyes of most.
That doesn’t mean a lockout over the winter months won’t suck for the MLB players, because it will. A lot. Even if most paychecks (the players under contract won’t be impacted until games are missed) won’t be effected, most livelihoods will still be dependent on players and coaches being able to find jobs, continue high level training and not getting lost in the shuffle when post-lockout business comes back at what will likely be a frenzied pace. Imagine an entire off season of business dealings compressed into two weeks. Could happen like that.
The players most impacted by the current situation are those on the cusp of becoming big leaguers. Fringe guys who will be going to spring training trying to impress and earn a roster spot. Guys that could benefit greatly from winter workouts at team spring training facilities, being with coaches and acclimating with teammates. Instead, they’ll be left to work out on their own, or in small, loosely organized groups, away from coaches and top-flight facilities. While they might not totally be “out of sight, out of mind,” they will be missing a huge opportunity to impress and get closer to the show.
This creates a mental strain, too. The not knowing part…not knowing when the work stoppage will come to an end, and how it will turn out. Fringe players are rarely part of the collective bargaining process but are instead reliant on information relayed by their team’s player representative. A lot of down time is spent waiting and wondering how the new agreement – whenever it is reached and becomes official – will effect their contract status and future paychecks. Will arbitration time be reduced? Will the owners still be allowed to manipulate major league service time and keep top prospects in the minors a little longer in order to negatively impact future earning opportunities? Will any of the issues that most impact the fringe players be front burner issues?
And while the whole “replacement players” fiasco in 1995 turned out very badly for the owners, who’s to say they won’t try it again if the impasse is still dragging on into April of next year? The owners stand to lose a ton of money if a full baseball season isn’t played. Those that are more concerned about the bottom line than what happens between the white lines may try to break the union by fielding teams of guys who aren’t currently on big league rosters.
That puts a whole new level of stress on fringe players, many of whom could be pressured by management to become fill-in big leaguers, thereby betraying their brethren and risking the long-term wrath of the Players Union. Things got very ugly on this front back in 1995. For some guys, it was the end of the career.
So while fans turn their attention to the stretch drive of the football season and the height of the NBA and NHL seasons, what’s NOT going on within baseball will be having a big impact on the guys that remain hopeful that they will be taking the field again in mid-February.