Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
As many caveats exist, there has seemed to be real momentum that Major League Baseball would at least begin a season this summer since the league and Players Association began negotiating. The thinking has been that both sides would be so motivated to recoup losses during a coronavirus pandemic that has taken so much from so many that all this money couldn’t be left on the virtual Zoom table.
Pedro Gomez is here to put his foot right on the brake pedal.
MLB and the union are negotiating over many issues, including a financial divvying-up that the two sides already agreed upon in late March. The two parties had agreed upon reduced pay, service time and the draft, among other issues, but they are now returning to negotiating as owners’ losses stack up and a window creeps open for a way to play this season.
“I see about a 30 percent chance of games being played,” Gomez, the ESPN reporter, said on “Murph & Mac” on Wednesday. “I think it’s going to get contentious, it’s going to get ugly. Ideally, I think, we probably shouldn’t even hear about it. If they are having these issues, these are things that they should probably be doing behind closed doors.”
The owners are offering the players a 50-50 split on revenue, which union head Tony Clark already has publicly declined.
“To think that players are going to OK a 50-50 proposal on this year’s revenues when they’re the ones assuming the majority of the risks, the health risks, is not realistic,” Gomez said. “The players are going to say: ‘Absolutely not. Why would we accept half of the money when we’re the ones assuming all the risk?’”
If, somehow, a deal is struck, Gomez doesn’t think the current plan will be enacted. Because of the amount of thumbs-up required from governors in each state, Gomez did not see opening up each home park as a possibility. Playing solely in Arizona, Florida and Texas would be more feasible.
So, Gomez is throwing cold water all over.
“The issue for the players, and it’s always the case … the players have a really difficult time winning the PR battle,” Gomez said on KNBR. “… Joe Fan out there is like, ‘Wait, what do you mean they don’t want to play?’ … They just don’t have any sympathy from Joe Fan. ‘You’re playing a kid’s game. Just shut up and go play.’ It’s not that easy.’”