MLB and the players union continues to be in a labor dispute about the 2020 season, but one thing is for sure: the owners do not want to play in November.
The two sides have been exchanging proposals, with each side seemingly starting negotiations with extreme positions:
– The owners initially proposed a sliding pay scale that would affect players at the high end of the pay scale the most.
– The players proposed a 114-game season that goes until October 31.
– The owners countered with a very short regular season with no pay cuts, seemingly as a way to say they only have a certain amount of money they can afford to pay the players.
During a radio interview with the “Burns and Gambo Show” on Tuesday, Arizona Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick said the league would not approve a plan that involves baseball being played in November.
Arizona Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick told @BurnsAndGambo the league will not approve any plan with baseball in November — including the union’s 114-game plan with a regular season that ends Oct. 31. The March agreement offered “the possibility” of games beyond normal schedule. pic.twitter.com/QSnxmvix1y
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 2, 2020
“There is not enough there to even get into a discussion about in terms of detail. The 114 games if you look at it would take baseball literally into the month of December. We all need to not forget that part of what has been in the air and much discussion from the player side as well as the owner side about the health crisis that we’ve all been facing. We’re all fearful that the virus could return at a very aggressive level later this year,” said Kendrick.
“We don’t want to take the risk of putting our players at jeopardy and our game in peril to be playing games beyond the end of October. So our model is and will never be changed that we will not be playing baseball in the month of November or later.”
Despite that proclamation, Kendrick says he is optimistic baseball will be played this year.
D-backs owner Ken Kendrick explains to @BurnsAndGambo why he’s optimistic that there will be baseball this year.
Listen to the full interview on https://t.co/wSG1LLfrvM or the Arizona Sports app. pic.twitter.com/GbOF2t7DAB
— 98.7 Arizona Sports (@AZSports) June 2, 2020
Both sides have a big gap to bridge in order to make a season happen.
