Hi, this is Fred Wallace with ” Off the Wire “,….. proudly sponsored by Pete’s Auto Body.
Pete’s Auto Body; because we care about our community….
Major League Baseball players were locked out last week when the collective bargaining agreement expired.
To clarify, the move was made by the owners and this is a ” lockout “, not a ” strike “, because technically, nobody is playing Major League Baseball at this moment, so there’s nothing to strike about.
That’s not to say the players don’t have issues and in fact their issues likely prompted the owners to take the somewhat proactive move.
The bothersome aspect for the players is economic.
First, with analytics so prevalent, many mid-calibre and borderline players are being released before they become free agents or hit their peak earning potential
The players dislike the system that keeps players in the minors to delay their major league service time.
Remember the wait for Vladimir Guerrero Jr in Toronto ?
And players also hate ” tanking “, real or imagined, which they believes allows teams to field a sub-par lineup at sub par wages.
The owners counter that there is no salary cap in baseball, therefore, the best players, with the best agents, get the best payoffs.
So here we sit , 2 & 1/2 months away from Spring Training which will likely be a question mark day after day until the regular season appears on the horizon and then, and only then, might we see some movement towards a resolution.
For Pete’s Auto Body, I’m Fred Wallace.