Hours after coming to an agreement with the Major League Baseball Players’ Association on a new collective bargaining agreement, and shortly before the owners ratified the deal with a 30-0 vote, Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred spoke with ESPN’ MLB reporter Jesse Rogers about the process — and where baseball goes from here.
Rogers: What made the difference in the end?
Manfred: “I have to give Tony Clark and his people credit on this. Right after we did the [canceled] game announcement [Wednesday] night, they sent a proposal on the draft pick compensation/international draft issue that turned out to be the thing that unlocked the process and allowed us to move forward.”
It sounds like you understood that the draft was a complicated issue?
“Yes. No. 1: we recognize that it’s a very complicated issue, particularly in the Dominican Republic. And No. 2, this was going to be a slow rollout. We never thought we were ever doing this before 2023 or 2024 at the earliest. A lot of work needs to be done. The opportunity to work with the players and make sure we understand the concerns — not only current players but also guys that came before — and make sure we get it right. It’s a big change. We need to get it right.”
Pulling back on the negotiations, why did it have to go down like this? The lockout lasted 99 days, all the way to March 10.
“I know the last few months have been rough on our fans, and I’m sensitive to that. I get it. Unfortunately, the process, as it’s designed in the National Labor Relations Act, works around deadlines and economic leverage. And sometimes to get the parties to make the compromises that are necessary to make an agreement, it takes time.”
Did you ever have serious concerns that you would miss a chunk of the season?…
Source : espn
