Tyler Kepner profiles Tony Clark, head of the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA). In doing so, Kepner discusses the issues facing the players as they reopen collective bargaining agreement talks with the owners. Some players understand what happened:
The C.B.A. signed in 2016 drew few criticisms initially, but soon an uneasy consensus emerged: It had allowed the owners to tilt the balance in their favor. The fundamental aspects of the system were in place before Clark took over. But some changes, such as harder caps on international spending and stricter penalties for higher payrolls, were clear wins for owners.
NYTimes.com
“We were under the assumption that we weren’t giving up that much,” Mets outfielder Michael Conforto said. “We didn’t realize that there were ways around the things that we put in to protect ourselves.”
Players thought money not spent on international signings and the amateur draft would flow to them. That money went into the owners pockets.
The system that was upheld still works for many players, of course: Manny Machado and Bryce Harper landed a combined $630 million in free agency this off-season. But with a few exceptions, the landscape is now painfully obvious: The system stifles the earning power of the younger players teams covet, without the promise of later rewards.
NYTimes.com
The players should keep in mind that the simpler they keep the system, the more freedom to negotiate they give to all players, the more fairly paid everyone will be. They could start by getting rid of the draft and limits on signing any amateur free agent. If they don’t they should argue that the lower costs of signing players mean that it takes less money to develop talent, so players should be free agents at the time they normally would go to arbitration.
Clark should ask big, however. Ask for universal free agency. Move the idea of what is possible. If they start with free agency after three seasons, they wind up with free agency after five seasons. Push for the sky, and get a middle ground that’s favorable to your side.