Today, Major League Baseball will be talking to their owners about a 78, 80, or 82 game proposal for this season. They need to get owners’ sign off before it heads to the players to vote on and sign tomorrow if approved. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic gave us all the details over the weekend. To sum it up, the owners are going to ask the players to enter a revenue-sharing model that looks more like a salary cap versus what baseball has done for the last 20 years. This means less money for the players to protect the owners. That is a tough pill to swallow. Will the players get on board or go down the dangerous path of 1994?

If the players push back on this plan, they should ask for some sort of increase in the years to come. Maybe it’s not the first year back in 2021, but the second or third year to ensure they can recoup some of these profits. I know players are concerned that if they give in here that it will set the precedent moving forward. But baseball can ill-afford to lose a season. The sport is not popular enough to sacrifice a year. If baseball leaves us, how many will truly care? I will. My friends will. My father will be devastated. Yet many people will shrug their shoulders indifferently caring that baseball is gone this year. Many would feel the players would be kowtowing to the owners, but they should be look at as champions for saving baseball.

In the player empowerment era, outside media will tell the players that they’re getting screwed. We hate owners in sports. That’s a fact. Mostly because they’re loaded with money, and we assume, as a society, that they can handle all financial losses. That isn’t realistic, but the way we shame the rich, people built that into their thinking. Part of the reason is most media grew up in the 90s where the economy boomed and people’s parents didn’t have to think of the impact. The economy is seen by some as this thing rich people talk about, instead of being the legitimate way our country makes money.

This is a big week for baseball, and other sports hanging in the balance. UFC 249 had a great event. German soccer is back this weekend. People will start clamoring for more, and the TV numbers are going to show that you want sports back sooner rather than later.

Charlie.