With practically two full seasons left on the current collective bargaining agreement, Main League Baseball is already bracing for a labor warfare.
That negotiations are making headlines in February — earlier than spring coaching is in full swing — says a lot concerning the tensions simmering beneath the floor.
A few of it’s circumstantial. As soon as the common season begins, consideration will shift to precise baseball somewhat than the looming labor struggle. However Yankees proprietor Hal Steinbrenner simply stated the quiet half out loud, making it clear that homeowners are pushing for a hard salary cap.
The twist? He’d solely help it with a caveat: a mandated wage ground.
Whereas the baseball world fixated on the Yankees’ newest tweak to their facial hair policy, Steinbrenner was making precise headlines. One of many recreation’s strongest homeowners brazenly backed a wage ground — an admission that might reshape labor negotiations excess of any sideburn rule ever will.
“I’ve been on the file already saying that I might contemplate supporting a cap, relying on what the cap is and contingent on the truth that there’s additionally a ground in order that golf equipment that I really feel aren’t spending sufficient cash on payroll to enhance their staff must spend extra,” Steinbrenner told NJ.com’s Randy Miller.
The Yankees have been among the many high three in payroll in 16 of the 17 seasons since Steinbrenner grew to become the controlling proprietor in 2008. Final season, they have been considered one of 4 groups hit with the stiffest Competitive Balance Tax penalties, paying $62.5 million whereas additionally seeing their first-round draft choose drop 10 slots as a result of exceeding the highest tax threshold.
“The priority to me is—I’ve stated this until I’m blue within the face, and I needed to change my numbers as a result of instances have modified from 10 years in the past—however we’ve got nice individuals right here,” Steinbrenner said, via Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News. “We’ve got a great participant improvement system, good younger gamers which have come up. Ought to I really want a $300 million-plus payroll to win a championship? Does having an enormous payroll actually enhance my probabilities that a lot of successful a championship? I’m undecided there’s a robust correlation there. Having stated that, we’re the New York Yankees. We all know what our followers anticipate. We’re at all times going to be among the many highest in payroll. That’s not going to vary, and definitely didn’t change this 12 months. We’re proper there.”
That is the paradox of Steinbrenner’s feedback. He’s arguing that huge payrolls don’t essentially equate to championships — and up to date historical past backs him up. Within the wild-card period (since 1995), 21 of 30 World Sequence winners ranked within the high 10 in Opening Day payroll, however since 2009, solely three groups within the high three have received all of it: the 2018 Pink Sox and the 2020 and 2024 Dodgers.
