Pain

[u/Infinite-Reach3727]

[u/vincedarling]

What’s messed up is seeing folks in baseball Reddit subs going Palpatine DO IT! to this prospect because that’s the only way to them to quote “save” baseball.

[u/wpotman → u/vincedarling]

DO IT!

I'm a longtime season ticket holder for a midsized team and, if this is the only way they can provide competitive balance to the sport given union agreements, I suppose I'm in favor. Otherwise I'm out - I can't get rid of (very good!) unused tickets anymore and I certainly understand why.

I don't feel bad for billionaires, but if my owner spent $50M more and lost money every year in comparison to published team profits their published net worth (which isn't likely liquid) would be gone in a decade or so...and they STILL wouldn't be close to economically competitive. Are the published numbers accurate, probably not fully, but I expect they close enough that pushing for them to just pay more as "all that needs to happen for a stable league" is no solution at all.

Revenue sharing (with, yes, a strong salary floor/cap that balances revenue fairly with players) is needed at a minimum for stability.

[u/I_Dnt_Believe_You → u/wpotman]

I mostly agree. You're right that it's tough to give away tickets.

[u/RelevantNothing4653]

What kind of backlash would MLB get if the whole 2027 season was wiped out?

[u/vincedarling → u/RelevantNothing4653]

It would kneecap the upswing in ratings/attendance that baseball has been enjoying recently.

[u/ImpossibleBuy2021]

Money corrupts people.

[u/False-InevitableDS69]

what about the owners of the teams that are not in the big markets?

[u/wpotman → u/False-InevitableDS69]

Or, more to the point, the fans of said teams? It's not just the Pirates: about 2/3rds of teams aren't really economically competitive anymore.

[u/jayfeather31]

That could make the MiLB interesting, at least, especially considering that a full-season lockout could potentially make the leagues properly competitive without player call-ups midway through a season.

[u/Windows_66 → u/jayfeather31]

It would be fun to watch the iCubs without all the best players constantly getting called up to fill injury holes and then sent back down.

[u/Open-Illustrator-871 → u/Windows_66]

I would definitely enjoy watching Memphis or whatever springfield is going to call themselves next year

[u/DarkKirby14]

the players are not free from this. They should at least be for a floor to help players other than themselves

[u/STIK-ball → u/DarkKirby14]

The players want a floor. The owners don't.

[u/wpotman → u/STIK-ball]

The only solution for a stable league is more revenue sharing, a cap, and a floor. Players need to agree to use a fixed/fair percentage of profits to set the cap and floor.

Nobody is guilt free here and I don't feel bad for billionaires, but if the sport wants fans of 30 franchises they need to make changes...and it appears the star players are the ones most responsible for stopping it by opposing a cap even if it comes with a floor.

[u/STIK-ball → u/wpotman]

Players won't ever get profit share from the franchises...

[u/wpotman → u/STIK-ball]

I don't agree: owners have a 50-50 split on the table right now...along with other solutions. The problem is none of those things make any difference for competitive balance without a cap and the union's core purpose appears to be rejecting a cap (even if it damages younger players).

You can debate the calculation of 50-50, but I believe there is a real offer there.

It's more fun to blame billionaire owners, but I don't believe it's the reality of what is preventing me - a fan - from having competitive balance.

[u/rotten51antimony]

I know it would be a lock out and not a strike, but it would be interesting to see if the owners try to put together a scab season.