All Things 2021-2022 Minnesota Twins Off-Season Thread

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forever a gopher said:
The majority of MLB players make more than the minimum. Assuming you pay most of the “scabs” the minimum or close to it, you’re saving a bunch of money. The MLB players aren’t getting paid when they don’t play.
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I don't think that non-roster minor-leaguers will want to be called scabs when they really earn their way into the bigs.

The good thing is that St. Paul will get some players that we expected to be at Wichita.
 


Opening Day officially cancelled. Shame on MLB.
 






Cancel the next 5 years.

Would anyone care?
 






Manfred is a joke, but the baseball regular season should be reduced to May 1st - August 31st anyways.

April is too cold to play baseball in the north, and no one cares about the baseball regular season once football starts.
 



FWIW - the MLB minimum is lower than any of the other three big pro leagues;Marvin Miller is rolling in his grave
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
FWIW - the MLB minimum is lower than any of the other three big pro leagues;Marvin Miller is rolling in his grave
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That's exactly right.

The owners haven't bargained in good faith at all. Manfred and the owners aren't interested in a fair deal. They want to make more and continue to pay less. It's really that simple.

The players have been getting screwed for years, and the owners and Manfred just want to screw them more.
 

there are a lot of levels to this.

my bottom line is that when you have one player who is scheduled to make more money than some entire teams, the economics of the sport are completely out of whack.

Now, if it was up to me, I would like to see a salary cap with a luxury tax penalty for teams that go over the cap, and a salary floor - so that all teams would have to spend a certain amt on salaries. No more stripping down the team and playing with a $40-million payroll.

But, the Players Union is absolutely opposed to the cap because when a big-spending team hands out a huge contract, it helps set the bar for similar contracts or comparisons in arbitration. Ironically, the players have even rejected the idea of a salary floor, because they think it is the first step toward a salary cap.

and really, you can't force teams to hand out bad contracts. Other teams see players like Pujols getting a 10-year deal, and then seeing his production drop off because of age and injuries. So, I think you're just not going to see players much above 30 getting those kinds of deals anymore. that is something that can't be addressed in a CBA.
 


GophersInIowa said:
Has there ever been a more universally hated sports person than Manfred?
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I don't think the hatred is any more/less than Gary Bettman or Roger Goodell. He's there at the will of the Owners, marching specifically to their orders.
 

Ope3 said:
I don't think the hatred is any more/less than Gary Bettman or Roger Goodell. He's there at the will of the Owners, marching specifically to their orders.
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Very true, however I don't believe they used the tactics as Manfred has. Not talking to the players union for a couple months or so, smiling, laughing when announcing the cancellation, I wouldn't think would sit well with the Pohlad family. Senior Pohlad was shrewd I believe. His wife Elsie was a huge baseball fan and I'm sure she did her part to make sure the Twins were successful. From what I've seen, the sons while watching the business at hand and concerned for the future, would not use tactics that Manfred has.

The sons have been making improvements, repairs etc. every year to keep Target field fresh. They also know they need a good product on the field to bring the customers in. Overall, I have respect for the Pohlad family.
 
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What bugs me is that the Commission is supposed to act "in the best interests of Baseball."

Well, maybe once upon a time, but modern Commissioners have basically been the spokesperson for the owners, and Manfred may be the worst.

Lawd help us, but I would feel better if Bud Selig was still commissioner, because I believe he actually cared about the game - not just maximizing owners' revenues.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
What bugs me is that the Commission is supposed to act "in the best interests of Baseball."

Well, maybe once upon a time, but modern Commissioners have basically been the spokesperson for the owners, and Manfred may be the worst.

Lawd help us, but I would feel better if Bud Selig was still commissioner, because I believe he actually cared about the game - not just maximizing owners' revenues.
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Bud was a fan and loyal attendee when he owned the Brewers
 

I have very little, and probably no, empathy for MLB players.

Why are they better than NFL and NBA players, who have an actual cap? MLB's isn't even a formal cap, just a defacto one.


Caps result in parity, which is better for fans and the game. And players would still be rich.


No, the players are wrong here -- as they've always been in this sport.
 

Gophers_4life said:
I have very little, and probably no, empathy for MLB players.

Why are they better than NFL and NBA players, who have an actual cap? MLB's isn't even a formal cap, just a defacto one.


Caps result in parity, which is better for fans and the game. And players would still be rich.


No, the players are wrong here -- as they've always been in this sport.
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I agree with this take to a point. I think the league has been run poorly for years and that is on the owners. There does need to be a cap though. The players are delusional when it comes to this.
 

Gophers_4life said:
I have very little, and probably no, empathy for MLB players.

Why are they better than NFL and NBA players, who have an actual cap? MLB's isn't even a formal cap, just a defacto one.


Caps result in parity, which is better for fans and the game. And players would still be rich.


No, the players are wrong here -- as they've always been in this sport.
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Except MLB has had more parity than NFL/NBA, so....

Salary caps are dumb. Very few other businesses put a limitation on what employees can be paid, why should baseball be different? Why do you want wealth staying with the owners rather than being transferred to the players?
 

Gophers1992 said:
Why do you want wealth staying with the owners rather than being transferred to the players?
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I don't.

I want it so that no team can simply afford to pay its players more than another team.

That's simply fair competition, and is the correct model for a professional sports league. The Premier League is another example of getting it wrong.


I don't care what the X% of total league revenue it is that goes to the players. That part is their business to negotiate with the owners, and I encourage them on that part.
 

Gophers_4life said:
I don't.

I want it so that no team can simply afford to pay its players more than another team.

That's simply fair competition, and is the correct model for a professional sports league. The Premier League is another example of getting it wrong.


I don't care what the X% of total league revenue it is that goes to the players. That part is their business to negotiate with the owners, and I encourage them on that part.
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I would prefer a hard cap, but the luxury tax acts as a defacto cap in recent years. The players should stop fighting to raise it and instead push for a salary floor.
 

Gophers1992 said:
Except MLB has had more parity than NFL/NBA, so....

Salary caps are dumb. Very few other businesses put a limitation on what employees can be paid, why should baseball be different? Why do you want wealth staying with the owners rather than being transferred to the players?
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It isn't (generally speaking in terms of sports). All the other sports dictate the salary cap based on a % of revenue. MLB however, is the one sport where a salary floor is also needed. No less money would be going to the players.

A salary cap and floor bolsters the MLB "middle class". It will cap the top 5% 'super high earners', but it would raise the "middle/lower class" salary, increase parity, and help the sport in the long term. To me, it's a no-brainer. But MLB has this insistence that they want to keep living like it's two generations ago.
 

Are there really MLB teams out there that would "Major League"-it??? IE, why would a floor be required if each player has a minimum?

I'm sure you all are right, I don't follow baseball closely. Just wondering, thanks
 

Gophers_4life said:
Are there really MLB teams out there that would "Major League"-it??? IE, why would a floor be required if each player has a minimum?

I'm sure you all are right, I don't follow baseball closely. Just wondering, thanks
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Four teams had a payroll less than $70 million in 2021. Orioles, Indians, Pirates and Marlins. The Rays are usually down around there as well. I'd say set a floor of at least $75-80 million.
 

With revenue sharing unfortunately there is a lot of incentive to not pay guys. The teams on minimal payroll tend to be extremely profitable even if they lose 100 games.
 

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