As the 2020 Major League Baseball season remained in limbo due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Players Association and team owners made several attempts to reach agreements on health and safety protocols an economic plan.
While the former was jointly established, the latter never came to fruition. The league insisted that players take further pay cuts due to the likelihood fans would not be permitted to attend any games, which wound up being the case for the regular season and most of the postseason.
The union did not budge and turned down all of MLB’s proposals, prompting commissioner Rob Manfred to unilaterally impose a 60-game season. That was despite a last-ditch effort by the Players Association to play 70 games.
Not only would the league reject that offer, but they also opted against presenting a counterproposal. Because an agreement wasn’t reached, the MLBPA retained the right to file a grievance.
The expectation all along was that they would do so, and according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, it has finally become a reality, with MLB filing a counter-grievance as well:
The MLB Players Association has officially filed a grievance stating that MLB did not act in good faith last year to play as many games as possible, and MLB has filed a counter-grievance, multiple sources told The Post. The players are seeking an estimated $500 million in damages, according to two sources.
The MLBPA is said to be seeking roughly $500 million in damages, which suggests the players were looking to play an additional 20-25 games last season.
With the 60-game schedule being implemented, players received the fully prorated salaries they desired — roughly 37% of their actual 2020 pay.
MLB, MLBPA previously met for first round of CBA talks
Prior to the union officially filing their grievance against MLB, the two sides met last month for the first round of CBA talks.
The meeting was said to have been held virtually and included dozens of leaders, including MLBPA executive director Tony Clark. The current CBA is set to expire on Dec. 1, and barring a resolution before then, the league could face a work stoppage.
It’s unclear if the grievances filed will negatively impact future discussions, but the consensus remains that both the MLB and union have a lot of ground to make up.
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