MLB and baseball in America has suffered a blow it might never recover from. After Commissioner Rob Manfred announced the cancellation of the first six games of the 2022 regular season. MLBPA leader Tony Clark held a press conference of his own.
Clark, a former player and 15-year MLB veteran, called March 1 a “sad day” for baseball. Though he said talks in Jupiter, FL were “productive,” both sides clearly have more work to do.
It’s obvious baseball isn’t as popular now as it was 60 years ago, or even 30 years ago, and the current debacle still unfolding could worsen MLB’s standing with America’s general public. After the player’s strike of 1994-95, baseball didn’t rebound in popularity until the home run race between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa.
In 2022, it’s unclear if that sort of nationally publicized event could ever be replicated. Players are more thoroughly tested for steroids, making superhuman feats of that nature nearly impossible.
Clark is well aware of the damage this lockout has done and could continue to do, “The game has suffered damage for a while now. The game has changed. The game has been manipulated.”
His remark about the game being manipulated is in direct reference to the owners. Of course, having argued for nine days straight, Clark’s frustration towards ownership is understandably palpable.
He also brought up the case of minor rule changes and pace of play issues. Even casual fans following the lockout may have found it strange when there was little talk of a pitch clock or shift lock until just days before the deadline.
Pace of play rules are an integral part of a changing baseball landscape. Clark mentioned the oddity that was MLB discussing these rules so late into the bargaining process.
“Players have been open to having that conversation for a long time now,” Clark said about pace of play discussions. “The fact that it manifested itself in the last 72 hours is strange.”
He continued, “Players are willing to have that conversation. Players are also very much interested in protecting the game itself.”
For any baseball purist, this should be a reassuring sign. At the very least, it signals that someone has baseball’s best interests at heart, while the owners seem to care less and less about the game and more and more about money.
Going forward Clark stated that “we’re willing to stay here and have the conversation tomorrow.”
His implication means that the players wish for no further delay in negotiations. They’re ready to restart meetings tomorrow, once again the onus is on the owners to make a move.
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