Payrolls drop for second straight year

[Enjoy Terror]

3 minutes ago, mdbdotcom said:

MLB owners don't.

Niether did Chris Davis. But keep telling yourself it was worth it just to stick it to Angelos.

[Moose Milligan]

 

46 minutes ago, DrungoHazewood said:

He drank heroic amounts of alcohol and slept with heroic numbers of women and shilled for heroic casinos, or so I've heard.

Bashing homers while hungover.  Makes him a hero in my book.

[Can_of_corn]

30 minutes ago, DrungoHazewood said:

I don't know.  But how else are they going to increase their percentage of revenues, which is already below other major North American sports?  Arb floors?  They'd have to trade something pretty big to get the owners to agree to a fixed percentage of revenues.  I doubt the MLBPA will just sit back and let compensation fall below 40% of revenues.

Not that I think about it...

Higher minimum will lead to higher arbitration awards.  If the price of controllable talent goes up it should make older veteran talent more desirable in comparison.

[clapdiddy]

50 minutes ago, DrungoHazewood said:

We're left with a situation where players in their first 6-7 years are being paid well below market rates, and teams are refusing to sign most guys in their 30s to large contracts.  The end result is that an average guy who comes up at 24-25 is never going to get that one big contract that's been the norm for the past 30-40 years.  I have to think that the next CBA is going to address this in some fashion.

Maybe an increase to the MLB minimum based on years of service? 

[wildbillhiccup]

The bottom line is that it's up to the owners to run their teams as they fit. They're in charge, not the players. That's just the way it works in the land capitalism. At least the players have an association to somewhat look out for their interests. That majority of us who work for privately owned companies don't have that luxury. In the "real" world private owners can do just about anything they want. They can fire you on a dime (i.e., no guaranteed contracts), choose to pay/not pay bonuses, etc. with no recourse. So no I don't side with the owners, but I also don't sympathize with the players either. And if they players think that a strike will help their cause they're sadly mistaken. Baseball is already dangerously close to becoming a niche sport (like hockey). 

All that said I feel like people should be more focused on the disparity between minor league and major league salaries than the average major league salary dropping. That's where the Player's Association should be focusing it's efforts. 

[mdbdotcom]

12 minutes ago, Enjoy Terror said:

Niether did Chris Davis. But keep telling yourself it was worth it just to stick it to Angelos.

Never thought it was worth it for any reason.

[Enjoy Terror]

1 minute ago, mdbdotcom said:

Never thought it was worth it for any reason.

Ah, so increasing Chris Davis’ salary wasn’t worth it, but increasing all the other players salaries is. Got it. You get to pick and choose what’s appropriate to stick to Angelos.

[mdbdotcom]

Just now, Enjoy Terror said:

Ah, so increasing Chris Davis’ salary wasn’t worth it, but increasing all the other players salaries is. Got it. You get to pick and choose what’s appropriate to stick to Angelos.

I never suggested sticking anything to any of the owners. I'm not enjoying your terror, so I'm going to leave this conversation now.

[LookinUp]

It's a data-driven market correction, but it's not as simple as not paying old players.

In the old days, teams seemed to value 80 win seasons more than the new crop of data scientists do. That created a larger demand for middle of the road talent. Now, teams like O's and 'Stros  are valuing the draft and develop young, cheap, talent much more. Why? Because the draft slotting gives teams at the top a large advantage and the arbitration/free agency system keeps talent cheap well into many players' peaks. Oh, and revenue sharing from a massive revenue pool doesn't hurt either.

It's the rules that have allowed these data-driven types to get owners to agree that a bare-bones organization is a better course than a middle of the road type. Owners only agree to that if the financials work out.

So the union will have to push to fundamentally change these financial facts. Otherwise, the efficiencies will continue to lower salaries among mid/lower tier players.

[Enjoy Terror]

Just now, mdbdotcom said:

I never suggested sticking anything to any of the owners. I'm not enjoying your terror, so I'm going to leave this conversation now.

I’m glad you were able to volunteer your comments to someone else’s conversation.

[mdbdotcom]

12 minutes ago, wildbillhiccup said:

The bottom line is that it's up to the owners to run their teams as they fit. They're in charge, not the players. That's just the way it works in the land capitalism. At least the players have an association to somewhat look out for their interests. That majority of us who work for privately owned companies don't have that luxury. In the "real" world private owners can do just about anything they want. They can fire you on a dime (i.e., no guaranteed contracts), choose to pay/not pay bonuses, etc. with no recourse. So no I don't side with the owners, but I also don't sympathize with the players either. And if they players think that a strike will help their cause they're sadly mistaken. Baseball is already dangerously close to becoming a niche sport (like hockey). 

All that said I feel like people should be more focused on the disparity between minor league and major league salaries than the average major league salary dropping. That's where the Player's Association should be focusing it's efforts. 

The bottom line is that the player's association functions as a union and has the right to negotiate collective bargaining agreements and call for work stoppages on behalf of its members.  The MLBPA has power when it uses it, as it should.

[Satyr3206]

1 hour ago, Anonsnides said:

People always support the talentless billionaire owners over the extremely talented millionaire players. Weird.

I would say becoming a Billionaire takes a bit of talent.

[Frobby]

1 hour ago, Enjoy Terror said:

I hate this stupid argument. This doesn’t occur in a vacuum. Do you think that giving Ryan Flaherty $10M will not affect ticket or beer prices?

According to this article, it really doesn’t.   https://www.google.com/amp/s/mlb.nbcsports.com/2019/03/22/there-is-little-correlation-between-player-salaries-and-ticket-prices/amp/

[Can_of_corn]

3 minutes ago, Satyr3206 said:

I would say becoming a Billionaire takes a bit of talent.

For Peter certainly, for his sons, not so much.

[wildbillhiccup]

36 minutes ago, mdbdotcom said:

The bottom line is that the player's association functions as a union and has the right to negotiate collective bargaining agreements and call for work stoppages on behalf of its members.  The MLBPA has power when it uses it, as it should.

I was speaking more to the back and forth argument about who we should feel sorry for. And while the Player's Association may have the right to call for a work stoppage they don't have the ability to guarantee the fans will come back to the game. The owners pay the players and we pay the owners so it's a domino effect. I'm also sensing that you're a union supporter and while I think private companies have way too much autonomy in the US, I also think that unions are far from a perfect solution. They often aren't fighting for "your" best interests and they reward mediocrity. That's just my opinion.