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MLB Two Month Season or No Season
That’s Amaury News and Commentary
By Amaury Pi-González
The clock has ran out.
Today MLBPA voted against the 60-game season proposed by the owners, by a vote of 33-5. Now the Final, REAL FINAL decision rest in Commissioner’s Manfred’s next announcement. By fiat he can set the schedule for a season, which will be around 50 games, basically two months of baseball. Or he can opt on cancelling this Soap Opera and saying, No season, for reasons he will then explain. There are owners that are fine with no season at all, it is a minority, but now that the players rejected the last pitch by the owners, others might join in the cry to cancel 2020.
The wild card continues to be Covid-19. Is it going to comeback in the fall or not? There are many opinions on that, depends who you listen to, but even the “experts” in science who study this stuff for decades have already contradicted themselves. This is no secret and is for everybody to see. But, in this subject both sides agree. There is a possibility the season begins and then has to be stopped because the cases of Covid would continue to rise and players will have contracted the virus.
If Manfred announces the shortened season, he must guarantee the security and well-being of the players. If he makes the decision to play this year, then the Players Union have the right to file grievance, mostly alleging that the owners did not negotiated in good faith.
I am sure there will be re-runs of this very sad exercise between owners and players, from the time MLB stopped Spring Training to the day and time Mr. Manfred makes his final decision. It would be documented and recorded in history as not one of the great moments for the National Pastime.
Season or no season, baseball has hurt themselves like never before. The old saying “timing is everything” could have not been more accurate in 2020 as MLB and MLPBA battle for two months and will come down to one of two very sad decisions.
Stay well and stay tuned.
Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the vice president of the Major League Baseball Heritage Museum located at the Oakland Coliseum and does News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com
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