 |
| Michael Scott (Steve Carell) running past a roadside speedometer in The Office's "The Duel" via The Office on YouTube |
MLB and the MLBPA are still at a crossroads. The latest proposal is from the league: 76-game season with 75% of a fully prorated salary, according to ESPN’s Karl Ravech.
The league does not look great right now from a PR perspective. Their season is in jeopardy due to how far apart the two sides are in negotiations. It seems like Michael Scott from The Office is in charge of the negotiation operation for the owners.
I’m not saying MLB commissioner Rob Manfred is asking his team to “explain (a budget surplus) to him as if (he was) an 8-year-old” like Michael asks Oscar Martinez in The Office’s “The Surplus” Episode (S5, E10), but there are a few comparisons.
This is so frustrating— Trevor Bauer (@BauerOutage) June 8, 2020
For those who are unfamiliar with the show, in “The Surplus,” the Scranton, PA branch of Dunder Mifflin doesn’t know whether or not to spend the extra money in their budget on new chairs or a new printer.
Michael originally leaves it up to his employees to decide what the branch buys, and will be on board with whatever they choose.
The league was originally on board with fully prorated salaries, for their employees, in March. They even reached an agreement.
In “The Negotiation” Episode (S3, E19), Michael is negotiating with Darryl Philbin about a raise for Darryl and looks up some last-minute tactics that come back to haunt him. Michael takes the negotiations to some pretty unprofessional levels, including only whispering, not speaking until spoken to, and taking frequent breaks when things don't go his way.
It’s almost as if the league took some notes on the over 17-time "Dundy Award Winner" on how to handle a public negotiation, how to keep lowballing their counterparts, and not relate to their fanbase whatsoever.
- 82 games at sliding scale = ~33% salary— Mike Axisa (@mikeaxisa) June 8, 2020
- 50 games at prorated pay = ~33% salary
- 76 games at 75% prorated pay = (drumroll) ~33% salary
It all comes back to the same place. MLB keeps making the same offer in different forms. https://t.co/DVfURfN50f
Is it a shot at their intelligence? Do they think they don't have calculators? Just one of them needs a calculator, just one of their agents needs a calculator, just one of their fans on Twitter needs a calculator.
Back to “The Surplus,” Michael doesn’t know whether to get new chairs or a new printer and the process is dragged out far too long. Baseball is losing time, according to Jeff Passan, a last resort option would be a season “in the neighborhood of 50 games” starting in July. Will they even agree on that? Will the players want to prepare for just 50 games?
Back to “The Surplus,” Michael doesn’t know whether to get new chairs or a new printer and the process is dragged out far too long. Baseball is losing time, according to Jeff Passan, a last resort option would be a season “in the neighborhood of 50 games” starting in July. Will they even agree on that? Will the players want to prepare for just 50 games?
Michael then learns he will receive a bonus if his branch comes in under budget, so he goes and buys an expensive coat thinking his employees won’t compromise and he will get the bonus.
Oscar, who wants a new copier for the office, concedes and decides it would be better to have new chairs than nothing, and Michael never gets "reimbursed" for the coat like he thought he would.
Is this what the owners will look like?
Will the players end up agreeing to a 50-game season full pro rata? The owners will still lose money on each game, like Michael with the coat and not bring in nearly enough revenue compared to what even a 60-game season would have been.
Right now the players would be paid a 57-game salary for a 76-game bill. If they don't back down, like Washington Nationals star Max Scherzer said, then we will have to wait and see what the players counter with... AGAIN.
When Michael realizes the company is being sold in Season 6, he distracts the group with a murder-mystery game, sort of like MLB putting together a 30 person MLB The Show video game tournament back in March. The tournament could have marketed players and the league at the same time, but turned into Blake Snell getting more promotion for his Twitch streams.
It isn't fun writing about if a season is going to happen or not. Our country is facing multiple crisis right now, and like I have said before, sports isn't a distraction, it's an escape. It's been taken away from us since March and now the headlines we are excited to see are about the latest proposals which, like Mike Axisa's tweet above reads, are all basically the same thing. The MLBPA is known to be the strongest player's union in professional sports, and it's obviously showing.
The Stanley Cup Playoffs are about to turn into a 24-team Late Summer Classic. The NBA is set to tip-off July 31 with a "Professional AAU Tournament" down in Orlando, and of course every time an NFL player talks it's news.
Can a 50-game season compete with the Stanley Cup Playoffs? Where the bandwagons come to life? Where 8-seeds take down 1-seeds and it's not an upset? Where goalie's become the favorite to be their city's next mayor?
Who knows. I'll know be watching everything. TIME reported the average age of the MLB audience in 2016 was 57-years-old, though.
But hey, I'm sitting on the edge of my seat for that next proposal!
Don't forget you can follow us on Twitter, Instagram, check out our YouTube Playlist, or like us on Facebook!
You can find Johnny on social media @johnnymaffei12
Oscar, who wants a new copier for the office, concedes and decides it would be better to have new chairs than nothing, and Michael never gets "reimbursed" for the coat like he thought he would.
 |
| via The Office, NBC, NETFLIX |
Is this what the owners will look like?
Will the players end up agreeing to a 50-game season full pro rata? The owners will still lose money on each game, like Michael with the coat and not bring in nearly enough revenue compared to what even a 60-game season would have been.
“I hate disappointing just one person, and I really hate disappointing everyone, but I love Burlington Coat Factory” -Michael Scott, The Office (S5, E10)
Right now the players would be paid a 57-game salary for a 76-game bill. If they don't back down, like Washington Nationals star Max Scherzer said, then we will have to wait and see what the players counter with... AGAIN.
When Michael realizes the company is being sold in Season 6, he distracts the group with a murder-mystery game, sort of like MLB putting together a 30 person MLB The Show video game tournament back in March. The tournament could have marketed players and the league at the same time, but turned into Blake Snell getting more promotion for his Twitch streams.
It isn't fun writing about if a season is going to happen or not. Our country is facing multiple crisis right now, and like I have said before, sports isn't a distraction, it's an escape. It's been taken away from us since March and now the headlines we are excited to see are about the latest proposals which, like Mike Axisa's tweet above reads, are all basically the same thing. The MLBPA is known to be the strongest player's union in professional sports, and it's obviously showing.
The Stanley Cup Playoffs are about to turn into a 24-team Late Summer Classic. The NBA is set to tip-off July 31 with a "Professional AAU Tournament" down in Orlando, and of course every time an NFL player talks it's news.
Can a 50-game season compete with the Stanley Cup Playoffs? Where the bandwagons come to life? Where 8-seeds take down 1-seeds and it's not an upset? Where goalie's become the favorite to be their city's next mayor?
Who knows. I'll know be watching everything. TIME reported the average age of the MLB audience in 2016 was 57-years-old, though.
But hey, I'm sitting on the edge of my seat for that next proposal!
Don't forget you can follow us on Twitter, Instagram, check out our YouTube Playlist, or like us on Facebook!
You can find Johnny on social media @johnnymaffei12