We almost have a season

After the MLBPA voted against MLB's 60-game proposal this evening, the league released a statement saying that the clubs have voted unanimously to proceed with the season under the March 26th agreement. 

But first, the league says it needs two pieces of information from the players in order to set a schedule. The league needs to know whether the players can report to camp by July 1st. It also needs to know whether the players will agree on the Operation Manual, which contains health and safety protocols necessary for the 2020 season. 

The league's statement read: 

"Today, the Major League Baseball Players Association informed us that they have rejected the agreement framework developed by Commissioner Manfred and Tony Clark.  Needless to say, we are disappointed by this development.
The framework provided an opportunity for MLB and its players to work together to confront the difficulties and challenges presented by the pandemic.  It gave our fans the chance to see an exciting new Postseason format.  And, it offered players significant benefits including: 

1. The universal DH for two years
2. A guaranteed $25 million in playoff pools in 2020
3. $33 million in forgiven salary advances that would increase the take home pay of 61% of Major League players
4. Overall earnings for players of 104 percent of prorated salary
5. Over the last two days, MLB agreed to remove expanded Postseason in 2021 in order to address player concerns
   

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In view of this rejection, the MLB Clubs have unanimously voted to proceed with the 2020 season under the terms of the March 26th Agreement.  The provisions listed above will not be operative."

While it's not a guarantee yet, this is a significant step forward in starting the 2020 MLB season. I think we can all take a breath of relief now and start getting ready for some baseball.