There is Power in a Major League Baseball Players Union

Tony Clark, President of MLBPA, told reporters that eliminating the MLB Draft is on the table in CBA negotiations.

— Josh Nelson (@soxmachine_josh) July 9, 2019

i guess tony's opening position will be asking for the moon

Stephanie Apstein in SI:

“I think we have unknowingly conceded a lot,” said Rays righty Charlie Morton. “Maybe not unknowingly. Maybe that’s the wrong word. You can read the CBA. You can know what’s in there. When you hear it, it sounds nice. And then three years later, you’re like, What did we just do? And now everybody’s pretty upset.”

This is not a fair fight. Players association head Tony Clark oversees 750 constituents who are aggrieved and cannot agree on why. Commissioner Rob Manfred is responsible for 30 ownership groups whose interests are simple and largely aligned: Make and keep as much money as possible.

https://www.si.com/mlb/2019/07/10/players-union-cba-negotiations

oh, you want to eliminate the draft? how about instead we double it

https://deadspin.com/mlbs-proposed-international-draft-is-half-insult-half-1836678098

https://www.thenation.com/article/mlb-moneyball-labor-unions

still near the beginning of the article but it's quickly losing me with stuff like

"Now players are typically paid based on anticipated performance. By analyzing so-called age curves, which supposedly show that a player’s productivity generally declines after he reaches his early 30s, owners and general managers have adopted a kind of reverse seniority: The older you are, the less valuable you are."

https://www.sfchronicle.com/giants/article/Giants-prospect-posts-paystub-on-Twitter-to-shine-14499561.php#photo-18395431

the "SAP act" - too on the nose?

xpost

The context is wrong in the section you quoted:

Traditionally they were paid based on past performance. If a player did well during the previous two or three years, he could expect a significant increase in salary that reflected his contribution.

Now players are typically paid based on anticipated performance...

This is undoubtedly true.

I thought the article had a good overview of the problem, but had nothing good to say about how to get out of this mess.

it's definitely true that they're paid on anticipated performance. i bolded the "supposedly" in "age curves, which supposedly show that a player’s productivity generally declines after he reaches his early 30s" because it implies that maybe age curves aren't a real thing, when...they definitely are.

(i also thought the example of gerardo parra as a player unjustly affected by modern management was a poor one - he sucks! of course no one gave him a contract last off-season, and the teams that ended up signing him this year regret it. dallas keuchel, mentioned the paragraph iirc, was a much better example.)

but all of that doesn't really take away from the general thrust of the article, which is good and informative, especially for a non-baseball-reading audience like the nation. whether aging curves are "real" or not (they are), they are part of the equation that ownership now uses to evaluate players and offer contracts. the current situation is untenable for anyone other than ownership - younger players get screwed (especially in the minor leagues), and then just as they gain the power to negotiate contracts with other teams, they're seen as inferior options compared to cheaper, younger (and often better) talent

silly question: if MLBPA goes on strike, does minor league play continue?

unclear, but a lot of triple-a guys with a cup of coffee are in the union

Manfred said there is “not going to be a deal where we pay you in economics to get labor peace" and "maybe Marvin Miller’s financial system doesn’t work anymore.”

Gear up, folks. A big labor fight is brewing. https://t.co/gHIQ0hJoOn

— Craig Calcaterra (@craigcalcaterra) November 20, 2019

how do i shot getting paid in economics

love to hit $10b in revenue then vivisect the golden goose to save a few nickels

Trumpism comes (BACK) to MLB

Gerrit Cole thanked Marvin Miller for his contributions to baseball, along with Curt Flood. Cole is a big players' association guy, joining a few other vocal players in that clubhouse.

— Lindsey Adler (@lindseyadler) December 18, 2019

Gerrit Cole thanked Marvin Miller and Curt Flood in his press conference. How does he know so much about baseball labor history? Apparently Pirates catcher John Buck used to drag rookies to the front of the bus and ask them about it: “Get your f——— book reports ready, kids.”

— Stephanie Apstein (@stephapstein) December 18, 2019

apparently MLB is going to voluntarily recognize the minor leaguers' unionization without forcing a vote? i am surprised; can only assume they saw absolutely no hope of it losing

either that or they're excited at the opportunity to make the major leaguers give up serious money in return for the minor leaguers getting a little more money

think it's a few things

1. MLB's reputation is in the dumps after the labor disputes of 2020 and 2022, the bad PR that would come from the pre-election union busting campaign would be disastrous given the low likelihood it would even work.
2. that bad PR would be multiplied 50x fighting against players making $8k a year
3. the union has the weight of AFL-CIO behind it now, and a major union probably offers much better support to the minor leaguers than an independent MLB union could