As the MLB lockout enters a new week, baseball fans from all around the country and maybe even the world have been left without baseball. Spring usually marks the beginning of Spring Training, however, this being 2022, nothing is normal.
We’ve seen a lot of back and forth on issue after issue, and we’ve seen a lot of baseball players come out and shared their perspectives, however, we have really yet to hear from the actual baseball owners and or their representatives until Monday morning.
On Monday, March 7th, New York Yankees’ president, Randy Levine broke the silence from the league’s side of things amind the ongoing MLB lockout. In an interview on ESPN New York’s Michael Kay Show (via Ryan Morik of SNY) Levine said that he was fed up with how the negotiations have gone so far and it’s going to take some effort from both sides of the table to get a deal done.
“We need to understand what is doable, what is possible and compromise,” Levine said. “Everyone needs to compromise because this is a really bad thing to show our fans, to show people. It’s embarrassing to be where we are.”
This is could be taken as perhaps giving some insight into how the owners are thinking. Levine explained that he thinks that the players are trying to overcompensate in these latest rounds of negotiations. “Players are competitors, they’re about winning and losing, and I think some of the talks I’ve heard is about winning and losing,” he said. “… Collective bargaining goes up and down. It’s incremental. You win some years, you lose some years, and when I say win or lose, that means you get what you want, you don’t get what you want, you compromise. It’s not a question of wins and losses on the scoreboard.”
Levine went on further saying “We’re all sick to lose any games,” Levine said. “We love this game. Losing any games is bad. Each game we lose, we lose a lot of money. Each game the players lose, they lose salary, that’s horrible. … There is nobody I have spoken to in this game who is not sick to their stomach every time any game is canceled.”
One very interesting point that Levine touches upon during the conversation, is about how the public thinks that there is a lot of money in the MLB. Levine goes on to address this perspective by many, by saying: “nothing could be further from the truth.” Levine mentions how during 2021 there were no fans in the stadium for part of the season and the loss of TV revenue has had a negative impact on owners throughout the league.
Lastly, Michael Kay asked Levine if there is a chance that the entire 2022 season would be canceled and Levine responded “That’s a mind-boggling horrid, horrid thought. Shame on all of us if that ever gets to that, shame on all of us.”
