MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has gotten a lot of flack on social media recently, stemming from his lack of trying to negotiate a 2020 season and his lack of caring about the sport he's paid to, uh, care about. One team in Georgia is jumping on the anti-Manfred bandwagon by selling shirts for fans who feel fed up with the commish's antics. The Savannah Bananas, a team in the summer collegiate Coastal Plain League are offering these shirts for $26 apiece on their team website.
It might seem odd that a college summer league team is so against the MLB commissioner, but the anti-Manfred statement is one that most baseball fans across all levels can get behind. Unlike MLB, the Bananas are scheduled to begin their season at the beginning of July. They will play a regional schedule against the Macon Bacon and the Lexington Blowfish called the Southern Summer Ball Series. The Bananas are also notable for having one of the best team names in all of baseball. These shirts just add another layer to their legacy.
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Here we go again.
In the never-ending saga of negotiations between the MLB and the players association, the league has offered yet another proposal to the players, according to multiple reports. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic laid out what exactly this new proposal entails:
It looks good, right up until that last part. The league has reportedly been trying to get the players to waive their right to file a grievance accusing the league of not negotiating in good faith to play as many games as possible. Of course, that could be the hiccup in getting a deal done. If the players are fine with waiving their right to a grievance, then everything else looks good to me. Now I guess it's time to see if they players meant it when they said "Tell us when and where. We're ready." Updated 3:48 p.m. Jon Heyman reported that a deal was close between the two sides, but the MLBPA responded by saying that those reports are false. Commissioner Rob Manfred did release a statement in the wake of this afternoon's reports, saying "At my request, Tony Clark and I met for several hours yesterday in Phoenix. We left that meeting with a jointly developed framework that we agreed could form the basis of an agreement and subject to conversations with our respective constituents." "I summarized that framework numerous times in the meeting and sent Tony a written summary today. Consistent with our conversations yesterday, I am encouraging the Clubs to move forward and I trust Tony is doing the same." By Trey Lyle
So the Seattle Mariners have never won the World Series and have never won the American League pennant. They also haven’t made the postseason since 2001, which is the longest active postseason drought in the four major North American professional sports. However, that 2001 team was one of the best teams ever to not win the World Series in the history of baseball and lands its place as the best season in Seattle Mariners history. The 2001 Mariners went 116-46, which tied the Major League record with 1906 Chicago Cubs for most wins by a team in a season. The team was dominant during the regular season, winning 59 of their games by four runs or more, which is a Major League record. The Mariners also led the league in both runs scored and fewest runs allowed. As for the postseason, the Mariners went on to beat the Indians in five games in the ALDS and then lose to the New York Yankees in five games in the ALCS. A big part of the 2001 season was the debut of Ichiro Suzuki from Japan, who went on to win both the AL Rookie of the Year and the AL MVP award in that season. Ichiro led the league in batting average hitting .350, and was also first in stolen bases with 56. He also had 242 hits that season. Bret Boone set the record for most RBIs in a season for a second baseman with 141. As a team, they were first in hits (1,637), stolen bases (174), batting average (.288), and on-base percentage (.360). They were the embodiment of playing small ball to win games. The pitching staff was elite as well, led by Freddy Garcia, who led the league in ERA with 3.05. As a team, they led the league in ERA (3.54) and were fifth in strikeouts (1,051). One of the best teams ever to not win the World Series, let alone make it there, the 2001 Seattle Mariners had a regular season for the ages that might never be matched again. Winning 116 games is unmatched, especially when it was in a modern time of baseball. This historic season in Major League history and maybe the best regular season of all-time puts the 2001 Mariners in a place of their own and is best season in franchise history. As if the MLB owners haven't done enough to mess up the 2020 season already, now there are reports that a small number of owners don't want a season at all.
But that small number has some significance to it. According to Andy Martino of SNY, six owners are against playing the 2020 season. Meanwhile The Athletic is reporting that there are more than eight owners who do not want to play. The difference in that number could be the difference in whether or not there is a season. According to the March 26 agreement that allows commissioner Rob Manfred to unilaterally set the 2020 schedule, he needs approval from 75 percent of the owners in order to move forward with any schedule he sets. That would come out to needing approval from 23 of the 30 owners. So if Martino is correct in that only six owners don't want to play the 2020 season, then it looks like we'd be in luck whenever Manfred mandates the schedule. But if The Athletic is right that more than eight owners are against playing, then the 2020 MLB season is in more serious trouble than we thought. Well, time now to complete the journey of AL Central teams, with now my new local team, the Kansas City Royals.
A team that has won two World Series, one in 1985 and 2015, and since I could get a sample size of Royals fans at my current employer, I did that to see what fans thought was the best season and what did I get? It was roughly an even split between 1985 and 2015. So, that didn’t help much. But, after some more research, it became apparent what season to choose from as the Royals’ best season. It is 2015. After losing in seven games in the World Series the previous season to the Giants, the Royals respond by having a 95-67 record, winning their first division title since 1985, going on to beat the Astros in 5 games in the ALDS and the Blue Jays in the ALCS in 6 games. They then beat the New York Mets in the World Series in five games to claim their second championship in franchise history. It was a team that played very well on their strengths as a team that wanted to get on base and use its speed around the base path. The team was fifth in stolen bases with 104, second in hits with 1,497, and 7th in RBIs with 689. The team also struck out very rarely, only 973 times, which was the best in the league. Their defense was great as well, with the third-best defensive efficiency with .701. The team had a reliable pitching staff boasting a 3.73 ERA, which was in the top 10 in the league. The major key for the Royals in 2015 was consistency; they played to their strengths and went against the trend at the time, the long ball. That is the reason why the 2015 Royals was the best season in franchise history. It's a good thing ESPN released Long Gone Summer when it did. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the MLB season has been delayed and I have been desperate for baseball content. Now, due to the players and the league not being able to come to an agreement, that delay will last even longer.
The 30 for 30 feature, which debuted on Sunday night, started off talking about the 1994 MLB strike. Figures from around the game - players, coaches, sportswriters and broadcasters - gave their take on how the strike affected the game. The work stoppage damaged baseball's reputation, causing drastic decreases in attendance that wouldn't resolve themselves for another decade. It changed the way people perceived the sport and its governing body. As we heard in the film, it wasn't until Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa had their historic home run chase in 1998 that the game really started to recover. And now, 26 years later, here we are again. The players and the owners cannot come to an agreement on how to play the 2020 season. Whether it's over how much the players should be paid, how many games to play, or any other controversial topic, the two sides cannot agree on the format for this season. Baseball has already taken a step back in the national spotlight. Baseball players are not nearly as well known as athletes that compete in other sports. Although the TV ratings are still there, attendance has steadily declined. If Major League Baseball wants a shot at redemption and plunging itself back into the forefront of American sports, now is the time. The NBA will return to play at the end of July with the NHL probably not far behind. Think about how bad the optics will be if the two major winter sports in the United States are able to negotiate a way to return to play during baseball season, while baseball sits on the sidelines. I, like most media members and fans, am on the side of the players. I think they deserve to be paid their prorated salaries. It's hard to believe that owners will be losing massive amounts of money when they don't make their books public. I support the players' fight for what they see as their fair share. But I do think that both sides have to look at the bigger picture here. If there is no season in 2020, or even if there is a 48-game season, it will hurt the game again. It will seem as if the league did not learn anything from its 1994 strike, and as they say, those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it. What will be the solution this time if this delay continues to drag out? Will the league embrace steroids users again in the hopes of setting more home run records? Will they continue to use juiced balls to inflate offensive numbers? I don't know how MLB will respond if they continue down this road. I'm not sure what the answer is, but what I do know is that they need to figure a solution out and get baseball back in front of the fans if they want to stay relevant. This story has been updated with new information. Less than a week after telling ESPN's Karl Ravech that he thought "unequivocally we are going to play Major League Baseball this year," MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has told Mike Greenberg he is now "not confident" there will be a season. ESPN's Jeff Passan reported on Manfred's comments Monday afternoon. The comments came as part of ESPN's "The Return of Sports" special which will air at 9 p.m. tonight. Manfred reportedly told Greenberg that "as long as there's no dialogue" with the players association, "that real risk is going to continue." Additionally, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reported that the league sent a letter to players saying there would be no season in 2020 unless the players waive any legal claims against the league. That would take away the players' rights to file any grievance against the league. Some have speculated that the players could file a grievance, saying that the league did not try to play as many games as possible in 2020. All of this is obviously be bad news for baseball fans and anyone involved in the game. The players and the league have been working on negotiations for months, but have not been able to make any progress. Most of the disagreement stems from the players thinking that a March 26th agreement guarantees them full prorated salaries, while the owners argue that without fans in the stands, they would not be able to afford that. So, where does this leave us? Manfred has the power to unilaterally set a schedule for the 2020 season, but there seems to be some bad blood between the league and the union now, so it's possible that neither side will want to move forward with any type of season. So I guess there's nothing left to do now but wait it out, and start looking for another hobby for the summer. Hopefully MLB can figure out how to be a competent sports league by the time the 2021 season rolls around. By Trey Lyle
Our Best Seasons series continues with the Detroit Tigers, a team that has won four World Series championships. In two of those seasons, the team won over 100 games; one was in 1968 with 103 wins. The other time was the best season in franchise history. The 1984 Detroit Tigers posted the best season the team has ever had. The team went 104-58, which is the best record in franchise history. A team that had one of the most impressive starts to a season, the Tigers started the season by winning their first nine games and were 35-5 after forty games. This helped the team to lead the AL East from wire to wire during the season, winning the division by 15 games. In the playoffs, the team only lost one game after a sweep of the Royals in the ALCS and defeated the Padres in five games in the World Series. The team was led by AL Cy Young Winner and MVP Willie Hernandez, the closer for the team who had 32 saves, a 1.92 ERA and 112 strikeouts. As a pitching staff, they were first in ERA with 3.49 and fourth in strikeouts with 914 Ks during the season. The team could hit as well, leading the league in home runs with 187, on-base percentage at .342, second in slugging at .342, and fourth in batting average with .271. A team that had four players in the top 16 of AL MVP voting and two in the top 7 for the CY Young showed how not only were the 1984 Tigers the franchise's best season, but also one of the most talented teams in the history of baseball. If you're missing baseball like I am, then ESPN's Long Gone Summer was a welcome escape from all the news surrounding us these days. The two-hour long 30 for 30 documentary focused on Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa's home run chase in 1998, and the consequences that came from their steroid use during their careers.
At least that's what it was marketed as. While I loved the nostalgia, the interviews with notable baseball figures and the highlights from that historic season, I have quite a few criticisms of the production. Starting with the lack of screen time for Sammy Sosa. Over the past few weeks as ESPN has been building up to the debut of Long Gone Summer, it seemed as if it would be equal parts McGwire and Sosa. That was clearly not the case as the majority of the documentary focused on McGwire's own career and 1998 season, sprinkling in some Sosa content here and there. There were whole segments in which there was no mention of Sosa. I can only remember three or four instances where they showed clips from the interviews with him. He played just as much a part in the 1998 season as McGwire did, and he deserved more time on camera. I understand that McGwire is the one who actually broke Roger Maris' home run record. He's the one who finished with 70 home runs in 1998. But Sosa hit 66 home runs on the year and actually won the MVP award. And it's not like that was a fluke. Sosa went on to hit 50 or more home runs in each of the next three seasons. He finished his career with 609 dingers. This documentary should have given him a little more of the spotlight. Aside from their 1998 home run chase, another thing McGwire and Sosa have in common is that both have been accused of using steroids throughout their career. With them being the faces of the steroid era, it seemed as if that would be a big focus of the documentary. When the promos feature a quote from Bob Costas saying "there was a price to pay" for that season, it really seems as if there will be a lot of steroid talk. Nope. In the first hour of the film, the only mention of PEDs is when a reported noticed a bottle of androstenedione in McGwire's locker. They talk about it for a few minutes, ultimately deciding it's not a big deal and moving on. After that, you'll have to wait until the final 15 minutes of the documentary to hear some more talk of the steroids scandal. For as controversial as it was at the time, you would think that the producers would have wanted to explore this topic a little more. But that may be intentional. I'm very against the use of PEDs within the game of baseball. I understand that at the time, there was no rule against them and there was no testing. I believe that regardless of the drugs they were taking, it takes skill to hit a ball that far and that consistently. I think we should let the past be the past and forgive these players for the way they tarnished the game. But I don't think we should embrace steroids in the game or even glorify those who have been known to use them. The documentary made it look like part of the filmmakers' goal was to shine a better light on McGwire and Sosa, to make them look more positive than they did in the wake of the steroids scandal. While they did do great things for the game by putting MLB in the national spotlight, they ultimately did more harm after they were caught illegally using performance enhancing drugs. I appreciated McGwire's statements towards the end of the documentary when he said that he would never encourage anyone to use steroids and that if there was drug testing in the league at the time, he wouldn't have used them. He acknowledge his use and seems as if he has regrets about it. Sosa wouldn't clearly admit to using steroids, but he did have a fair point when he asked why he and McGwire have to answer for what everyone was doing at the time. That is a valid question, but I still don't think that anyone linked to steroids should be enshrined in the Hall of Fame. The steroids scandal is a tough situation. I've never spoken about it on the blog or in the podcast because there are so many levels to it. If teams want to honor players the way the Cardinals did with McGwire, that's their call (and the Cubs really should invite Sosa back to Wrigley). But no one involved in any steroids scandal should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame. They made their decision to use PEDs, and they should have to pay the price for it. I see the narrative shifting as we get further away from the steroids era. Fans and journalists are more in favor of honoring the players from those years. This documentary reflects that change of attitude, but it's still not one that I can get behind. |
AuthorMatthew Atkins, Journalist and Baseball fan. Archives
March 2023
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