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Speaker 1: I've run into owners at games and things, and when

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Speaker 1: I introduce myself, they literally say, we're not allowed to

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Speaker 1: talk to you. I think they get fined, so you know,

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Speaker 1: again that's just a little ironic.

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Speaker 2: Bruce Meyer joining us right now, the deputy executive director

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Speaker 2: of the Players Association.

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Speaker 3: Bruce.

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Speaker 2: Great to have you on foul Territory. Thank you so

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Speaker 2: much for the time, and I figure I'll just start

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Speaker 2: with a quick intro just like we do, you know,

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Speaker 2: passing the rock, and say your name and what you

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Speaker 2: do for those that are unaware of you know, how

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Speaker 2: your position works within the MLBPA. Can you enlighten us

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Speaker 2: on what you've been able to do within the Players Association?

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Speaker 1: Yeah, thanks Scott. Pleasure to be on it. What did

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Speaker 1: they say on the Collin Shows? First time, long time fan,

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Speaker 1: So happy to be on. Yeah. I'm the deputy executive director.

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Speaker 1: I'm also the lead negotiator and collective argaining. I came

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Speaker 1: on in I believe it was September of two thousand eighteen,

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Speaker 1: so been through been through a lot. I've been through

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Speaker 1: the pandemic, been through collective bargaining in twenty one, twenty two.

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Speaker 1: I've been through the first minor league collective Bargaining Agreement,

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Speaker 1: and obviously preparing for the next Major League CBA. The

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Speaker 1: current CBA, as you know, inspires in December of twenty

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Speaker 1: twenty six. So we've been doing what we always do,

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Speaker 1: meeting with players, collecting feedback, and getting ready for whatever's coming. Purse.

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Speaker 4: Before we dig into this interview here, relax, I know

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Speaker 4: you don't do a lot of interviews. Relax, It's okay.

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Speaker 4: You know, you know this stuff like the back of

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Speaker 4: your hand. Just take a deep.

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Speaker 3: Breath, Relax.

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Speaker 4: You know, if we need to get someone over there

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Speaker 4: to rub on your shoulders a little bit gets you

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Speaker 4: to calm down, It's okay. We're not going to ask

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Speaker 4: any hard hitting questions that you haven't answered a thousand

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Speaker 4: times for Tony Clark. So smile, enjoy the interview, and

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Speaker 4: you're gonna do great. I'm proud of you for coming

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Speaker 4: on with us.

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Speaker 1: So prest of all, I appreciate that although I'm fine,

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Speaker 1: I have always tense. And second, I'm having a like

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Speaker 1: a weird lag, which your producer told me you're not seeing.

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Speaker 1: So when I talk, I'm seeing my lips move like

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Speaker 1: a few seconds later, So it's throwing me off. But

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Speaker 1: I'm great, AJ, and I appreciate that.

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Speaker 3: There you go.

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Speaker 2: Hey, all right, so let's get to biss. Let's try

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Speaker 2: this out part of our reach out to you. Of course,

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Speaker 2: we want to have you on at some point. Anyway,

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Speaker 2: was timing. We covered the story last week in The

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Speaker 2: Athletic from Evandrelic that brought to light many comments that

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Speaker 2: became public from Rob Manfred about his latest message, which

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Speaker 2: seemed to be directed towards players in Major League Baseball.

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Speaker 2: What did you think of what he said? And what

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Speaker 2: do you think is the response from the players Association

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Speaker 2: to someone on the other side trying to stir the pot.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, first of all, I'll say it's not new.

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Speaker 1: I mean Rob has done that in the past, gone

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Speaker 1: to locker rooms, talk to players, players, tell us that

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Speaker 1: he's coming players. Usually player rep talks to us after

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Speaker 1: he's done, So it's not new. I'll say. Also, you know,

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Speaker 1: basically it's kind of continuation of a pattern which has

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Speaker 1: gone on for decades, which is, you know, the other side.

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Speaker 1: I mean, it's a labor labor relationship. The other side

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Speaker 1: tries to go directly to players, tries to create divisions

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Speaker 1: between players and other players or players in the Union,

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Speaker 1: and and and that's part of, you know, part of

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Speaker 1: what they do. And again it's nothing new. So we've

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Speaker 1: been meeting with our players pretty much continuously. So our

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Speaker 1: players are are educated and informed, and I think they

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Speaker 1: understand where Rob's coming from when he comes to me.

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Speaker 3: With them, it was a different tact. It was a

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Speaker 3: different type. In my playing days, I'd never yeah, he

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Speaker 3: would come in and he would chat or talk, but

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Speaker 3: to do it publicly, it felt like it felt like

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Speaker 3: more to me, it felt like, as a player, more

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Speaker 3: of an attack. Why do you think now is the

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Speaker 3: time that he chose to do that? Because he doesn't

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Speaker 3: choose things just singularly. Why did the group Why didn't

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Speaker 3: Major League Baseball owners feel like this was a good

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Speaker 3: time to do this.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, well, you know, I hesitate to try and interpret

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Speaker 1: what's in their minds. But look, I mean it's been

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Speaker 1: no secret. I mean they, the league and some of

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Speaker 1: the individual owners have made no secret that they would

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Speaker 1: like to see a system that they've tried to get

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Speaker 1: for fifty years, which is a salary cap system. I

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Speaker 1: think probably there's a lot of pressure on the other

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Speaker 1: side internally to try and take a stab at that,

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Speaker 1: but we'll see. But you know, that seems to be

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Speaker 1: the impetus. You guys know, after the last CBA, they

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Speaker 1: immediately formed this Economic Study Committee, which some people think,

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Speaker 1: you know, was was largely the salary cap Study Committee.

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Speaker 1: But but we'll see what what they actually propose. You know,

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Speaker 1: you've been you've been seeing a lot of talk, though

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Speaker 1: more than usual, from individual owners about things they would

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Speaker 1: like to see in the next system. So I think

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Speaker 1: that's probably really the driving uh the driving force behind it.

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Speaker 1: And you know, it's a little ironic because we're they

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Speaker 1: don't actually allow their owners to talk to us. I've

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Speaker 1: run into owners at games and things, and when I

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Speaker 1: introduce myself, they literally say, we're not allowed to talk

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Speaker 1: to you. I think they get fined. So, you know,

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Speaker 1: again that's just a little ironic. Uh, they're apparently afraid

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Speaker 1: of their owners talking to us individually. But you know,

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Speaker 1: I think I think it's par for the course the

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Speaker 1: last couple of years. And again, our players, you know,

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Speaker 1: we do everything we can to make sure our players

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Speaker 1: are educated and they understand what they're hearing, and if

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Speaker 1: they have questions, they'll ask ask us before or after.

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Speaker 1: And so you know we're dealing with it crats.

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Speaker 4: Hey, Bruce, you mentioned owners not talking to you guys,

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Speaker 4: We had Dexter Foller on here and he's part of

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Speaker 4: the Special Commissioners Players Association Outreach whatever. I don't know

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Speaker 4: what it's called, but what's the thought on that? Because

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Speaker 4: I kind of questioned Dexter about it, like, man, this

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Speaker 4: is weird because you know, you're, as a former player,

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Speaker 4: part of the union. You're going in to tell players, hey,

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Speaker 4: let's stand with the commissioner here. Now he said, that's

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Speaker 4: not how it works. But is there any thought from

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Speaker 4: the player association like why are players going to work

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Speaker 4: for the other side, Because then they come into the

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Speaker 4: to the room and they get access to the other players,

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Speaker 4: and then they can run back and say, hey, Rob,

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Speaker 4: this is what the players are talking about. Does it

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Speaker 4: give them any extra granted access because of that?

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Speaker 1: Yeah? Look, I mean I obviously wasn't wasn't the player

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Speaker 1: and and you know, all due respect to anybody who

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Speaker 1: played the game, and in terms of what guys choose

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Speaker 1: to do in their in their post career careers, you know,

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Speaker 1: I'm not going to question that. I will say, you know,

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Speaker 1: there are players who are being paid by MLB and

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Speaker 1: who are going with Rob to the locker rooms and

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Speaker 1: trying to sell players on a system that this union

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Speaker 1: has historically thought was bad for players and that they

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Speaker 1: themselves didn't have to live under when they played. So

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Speaker 1: you know, I mean that, I guess I'll say players,

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Speaker 1: I think see it for what it is. Players know

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Speaker 1: when they see those guys in the locker room with

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Speaker 1: Rob pitching a system that the league wants. Players know

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Speaker 1: those guys are getting paid. And again, it may be

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Speaker 1: great players, maybe former teammates, maybe guys they respect, but

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Speaker 1: I think players take it for what it is. Players

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Speaker 1: understand what's going on, and again, who's being paid to do? What?

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Speaker 3: Can you comment on the commissioner's words when he said

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Speaker 3: he wouldn't have lost billions of players when you break

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Speaker 3: it down and you look at it, and that is

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Speaker 3: like you were the one that that agreed to this

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Speaker 3: deal that lost the players. Like he's saying that the

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Speaker 3: billions wouldn't have been lost if the players would just

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Speaker 3: come over and listen to what he has to say

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Speaker 3: or follow him.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, I mean the whole premise. And again,

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Speaker 1: you know, the cap talk is nothing new. I mean

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Speaker 1: they've proposed something like a cap or a weight scale

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Speaker 1: at least five times, going back to the seventies, and

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Speaker 1: you know, the pitch is like, hey, this is really

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Speaker 1: good for the players. And you know, one of the

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Speaker 1: things players immediately sees on as well, if this is

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Speaker 1: so good for us, then why are they pushing it

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Speaker 1: so hard? Why do they want it so desperately? Why

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Speaker 1: did the other leagues, you know, lock out players to

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Speaker 1: get it. So you know, when when faced with a

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Speaker 1: claim that hey, this is really good for you, it's

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Speaker 1: going to put money in your pockets again, I think

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Speaker 1: guys immediately understand that the reason they want that system

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Speaker 1: is not because they want to pay players more. They

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Speaker 1: can pay players more today. So you know, it's a

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Speaker 1: little unclear what's being referred to and talking about. Well,

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Speaker 1: you know, if you had this system, you could have

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Speaker 1: had two billion dollars. I mean again, I don't know

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Speaker 1: what proposal is being referred to there. But the fact

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Speaker 1: of the matter is they want that system because it's

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Speaker 1: going to ultimately put more money in their pockets. It's

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Speaker 1: going to increase their profits, it's going to increase their

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Speaker 1: franchise values, and that's that's why they wanted I mean, frankly,

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Speaker 1: if it was so good for the players and it

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Speaker 1: was going to cost them so much money for players.

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Speaker 1: Why don't you see the other leagues, you know, trying

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Speaker 1: trying to give up those systems. Why don't you see

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Speaker 1: the other league say, hey, you know this is costing

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Speaker 1: us a lot of money, like let's go back to

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Speaker 1: the pre cap system. So I think there's the right

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Speaker 1: the right amount of skepticism among players when they hear

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Speaker 1: claims like that.

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Speaker 2: All right, we're back with Bruce Bye from the MLB

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Speaker 2: Players Association. Let's continue the salary cap talk, shall we. So, Bruce,

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Speaker 2: you mentioned how a commissioner, Rob Manfred, you know, brings

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Speaker 2: up the billions of dollars that the players could have

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Speaker 2: had from some magic pot that I don't know where

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Speaker 2: that came from. So to continue the salary cap discussion,

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Speaker 2: why do you think that you know, we're in a

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Speaker 2: position here where it's become more of a push from

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Speaker 2: the league side. And the big follow up for me

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Speaker 2: is are they able to share more money as a

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Speaker 2: league without anything having to do with the salary cap?

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Speaker 2: If the biggest complaint is, hey, the pirates, or bring

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Speaker 2: up another team that doesn't spend much would spend all

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Speaker 2: of this money if we had a salary cap? Why

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Speaker 2: don't they just help them out with revenue sharing to

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Speaker 2: distribute their piece of the pot a little bit better.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, a couple of things, Scott. First of all, on

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Speaker 1: revenue sharing, they can't change the way they share revenues.

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Speaker 1: We have negotiating with us. That's something that's been collectively

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Speaker 1: bargained for, you know, decades and including the last round

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Speaker 1: of bargaining. So if they want to share more revenues,

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Speaker 1: that's not something they can do by themselves without negotiating

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Speaker 1: with us. But there are things you can do, you know,

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Speaker 1: to the extent we have some teams that don't want

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Speaker 1: to spend. There are things you can do to incentivize

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Speaker 1: teams to spend. We proposed some of them last time.

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Speaker 1: The league wasn't interested. Last time in bargaining, we proposed

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Speaker 1: numerous changes to the revenue sharing system. We said, look,

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Speaker 1: it doesn't make sense right now. You're giving all this

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Speaker 1: money to certain teams and they're not spending it. They're

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Speaker 1: and they're basically, you know, putting the money away. And

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Speaker 1: what we heard from the league was, we don't disagree

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Speaker 1: on some of these things, but we can't change it.

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Speaker 1: We won't change it. I mean literally, last time the

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Speaker 1: league told us we will not change revenue sharing period,

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Speaker 1: and they didn't. They never wavered from that. This time,

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Speaker 1: you know, it may be different this time. They're reasons

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Speaker 1: to believe the league may may be more open to

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Speaker 1: that discussion. But you could make changes. It would have

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Speaker 1: to be be negotiated in terms of you know, the cap.

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Speaker 1: They you know, we're always asked about a floor, right,

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Speaker 1: so well, it wouldn't be good to have a floor.

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Speaker 1: And just to be clear on a couple of things,

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Speaker 1: we're not against a floor. If if if they came

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Speaker 1: to us and said, we'll give you a floor, my

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Speaker 1: response would be great, what does it come with? And

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Speaker 1: historically that has always come with a cap. And the

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Speaker 1: last round of negotiations we had in exchange with one

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Speaker 1: of their owners who literally said any any amount in

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Speaker 1: a floor would have to be paid for dollars for

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Speaker 1: dollars somewhere else. So when they talk about a floor,

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Speaker 1: what they're really talking about is just taking money from

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Speaker 1: somewhere else and giving it to a different team. You know,

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Speaker 1: what they call a zero S game. Just you know,

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Speaker 1: they're talking about converting into a system where nobody can

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Speaker 1: spend more than the amount. Now again, there are other ways

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Speaker 1: to incentivize tams, whether through you know, a floor or

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Speaker 1: a soft floor, or having the right incentives. And again

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Speaker 1: we're always, you know, open minded about things like that,

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Speaker 1: but to be clear, the league's conception of a floor

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Speaker 1: has always been we're going to take money from a

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Speaker 1: team that wants to spend it and give it to

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Speaker 1: a team that doesn't want to spend it and somehow

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Speaker 1: make them spend it. But at the end of the day,

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Speaker 1: you're transfer transforming it into a system where where nobody

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Speaker 1: can can fully ever be competitive. Nobody can, excuse me,

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Speaker 1: can compete. Nobody can. It's it's really the opposite of competition,

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Speaker 1: salary cap, you know, it's really what it is really

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Speaker 1: as a form of collusion. You know, for years there

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Speaker 1: was collusion and trying to figure out ways to collude. Well,

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Speaker 1: if you have a cast system, you don't have to

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Speaker 1: clude because it is a collusion. Nobody can compete to

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Speaker 1: put the best team on the field, you know, on

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Speaker 1: any given day. So you know, those are just some

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Speaker 1: things to keep in mind about a cap system. And

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Speaker 1: another thing, I apolo just doesn't really go to your question,

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Speaker 1: but you know, one of the things I think people

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Speaker 1: don't appreciate about that kind of system is individual guaranteed contracts.

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Speaker 1: You really can't have them in the cap systems the

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Speaker 1: way our players have them in baseball and football. You know,

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Speaker 1: this is most obvious. I mean, every free agent period

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Speaker 1: it's like a bloodbath. They're cutting players, players at all levels,

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Speaker 1: you know, Pro Bowl players, middle class players, to try

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Speaker 1: and squeeze in a salary for a quarterback. Even the

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Speaker 1: quarterbacks they go to continuously and say, oh, would you

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Speaker 1: take less so we could sign this guy. Very few

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Speaker 1: contracts in football are fully guaranteed. In basketball and hockey

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Speaker 1: they have escro means your contract is not really guaranteed.

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Speaker 1: And in fact, there was an article just a few

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Speaker 1: days ago about basketball their players because the revenues didn't

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Speaker 1: meet projections, their players had to give back five hundred

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Speaker 1: million dollars almost of their guaranteed salaries. So, you know,

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Speaker 1: there are other things that come along with a cap system.

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Speaker 1: You know, it's not just a math problem like well

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Speaker 1: here's how much you're getting, now here's how much you

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Speaker 1: would get. It undermines guarantees, It eroads guarantees, freedom of movement,

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Speaker 1: freedom to structure contracts, freedom to do early extensions. All

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Speaker 1: of those things are things that come along with a cap,

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Speaker 1: things that you basically can't do anymore.

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Speaker 2: So I think it's clear, I mean, on your side, obviously,

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Speaker 2: it's going to hurt the player perspective, which goes against

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Speaker 2: what Commissioner Manfred just said. I'll try and do a

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Speaker 2: nice and simple question, then let you run with it,

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Speaker 2: and some of it you already covered, but I just

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Speaker 2: feel like I need to queue it up this way.

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Speaker 2: We get so much fan feedback, especially in the off season.

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Speaker 3: We need a cap.

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Speaker 2: It will cure everything.

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Speaker 1: Right.

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Speaker 2: I'm a fan of a small market team and I'm

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Speaker 2: sick of seeing the Dodgers sign all of these players.

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Speaker 2: If not a cap, what is the solution to get

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Speaker 2: those teams more competitive with the big juggernauts in baseball?

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Speaker 1: So a few things. I mean, first of all, when

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Speaker 1: you look at the history of MLB, the recent history,

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Speaker 1: and particularly when you're compared it to other sports, I mean,

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Speaker 1: small market teams have been successful. You know, I grew

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Speaker 1: up in New York rooting for the New York Mets.

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Speaker 1: The Mets haven't won a World Series in forty years.

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Speaker 1: The Dodgers have won two in thirty eight years. You know,

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Speaker 1: the Yankees haven't won fifteen years, I mean since the

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Speaker 1: Mets last won a World Series. Clubs that have won

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Speaker 1: World Series include Minnesota, Kansas City, Cincinnati, Saint Louis won two.

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Speaker 1: Tampa seems to be doing great every year. If I'm

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Speaker 1: not mistaken, this year, the best record in baseball is

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Speaker 1: the Detroit Tigers. The Milwaukee Brewers have been successful pretty

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Speaker 1: much year after year. If you look at the standings

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Speaker 1: over since like twenty ten. In the top I looked

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Speaker 1: at this the other day, in the top eight, teams

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Speaker 1: are the best record. You're going to see Cleveland, You're

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Speaker 1: going to see Milwaukee, You're going to see you going

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Speaker 1: to see Tampa, You're going to see Baltimore. So, you know, teams,

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Speaker 1: and particularly with the expanded playoffs, I mean, you do

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Speaker 1: have teams at all levels, small market teams who were

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Speaker 1: able to be to be competitive. In the last twenty

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Speaker 1: five years, the team with the top payroll has won

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Speaker 1: the World Series four times. Okay, So the notion that

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Speaker 1: there's a crisis, I mean, I remember, and I know

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Speaker 1: you guys remember it was only a year ago that

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Speaker 1: we had Arizona and Texas in the World Series, and

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Speaker 1: I think Arizona had the eighth ice payroll and Texas

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Speaker 1: had the eighteenth ice payroll, So I think the league

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Speaker 1: is kind of weaponizing. Oh my god, the Dodgers won

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Speaker 1: the World Series last year and they signed a bunch

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Speaker 1: of players. Some of those players, by the way, you know, anybody,

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Speaker 1: anybody could have signed to a fan in a small market.

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Speaker 1: And of course, if you look at other sports, I mean,

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Speaker 1: we're all fans of other sports. You see the Patriots

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Speaker 1: who made eight straight AFC finals in a cap system.

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Speaker 1: Hockey has had three repeat winners in the last few years.

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Speaker 1: Baseball hasn't had a repeat winner in twenty six years.

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Speaker 1: So again I think the whole premise is wrong to

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Speaker 1: fans in small markets. I would say, look, competition is

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Speaker 1: crucial for us, crucial for players. Our market system that

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Speaker 1: we have, it's not perfect by any means, but it

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Speaker 1: relies on competition to the extent we have teams that

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Speaker 1: are unwilling to compete. It's not because the Dodgers went

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Speaker 1: out and signed some players. I mean, that doesn't explain

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Speaker 1: why the Pittsburgh Pirates, for example, don't go out and

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Speaker 1: spend money. It's not because the Dodgers spend money. There

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Speaker 1: are other reasons why they don't do that. Now. We

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Speaker 1: have proposed in the past, and I'm sure we'll propose

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Speaker 1: again incentives ways to try and ensure that teams do

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Speaker 1: spend the money they get in revenue sharing. To reward

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Speaker 1: teams for being competitive, we proposed last time in bargaining

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Speaker 1: that small market teams that I think finished over five

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Speaker 1: hundred and made the playoffs we get extra draft picks.

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Speaker 1: The league wasn't interested. And by the way, small market

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Speaker 1: teams already get massive amounts of revenue sharing, They get

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Speaker 1: an equal share of central revenues they get from what

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Speaker 1: they call the Commissioner's Discretionary Fund, and they get advantages

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Speaker 1: in the systems. Small market teams have built in advantages

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Speaker 1: in our system, whether with respect to international pool money

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Speaker 1: or or draft picks. So there are there are already

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Speaker 1: lots of things in there that are being done to

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Speaker 1: try and make sure teams can be competitive. And as

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Speaker 1: they said, small market teams, many of them have proven

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Speaker 1: that they can be competitive. And so look, I think

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Speaker 1: I think what the cap gives some owners is an

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Speaker 1: all purpose excuse. Hey, I'd like to spend more, but

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Speaker 1: I can't you know, it's fundamentally anti competitive. But again,

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Speaker 1: we have lots of things in our system already and

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Speaker 1: and things that we have proposed and will propost is

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Speaker 1: designed to incentivize competition and not reward teams that don't

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Speaker 1: want to compete.

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Speaker 4: I have to ask this question man for Rob, I

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Speaker 4: might call Rob because we took on the phone and

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Speaker 4: he told me to call him Rob. So Rob said

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Speaker 4: that there should be a deadline for signing free agents.

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Speaker 4: Why why does there have to be a deadline so

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Speaker 4: you can put all the pressure on the players to

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Speaker 4: make them not want to Oh gosh, February first is

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Speaker 4: the deadline and the team just sit back and wait,

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Speaker 4: and then there's a feeding frenzy on Oh I got

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Speaker 4: to take this job for less money in this job, right,

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Speaker 4: So why would we ever want as players a deadline

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Speaker 4: on a signing for a free agency. It seems like

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Speaker 4: a counterintuitive to me if you're a player.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, so that's an issue that's come up.

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Speaker 1: And we've heard this from the league and they've said

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Speaker 1: it publicly. They've said, Oh, wouldn't it be great, you know,

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Speaker 1: the winter meetings would be really exciting, And look how exciting.

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Speaker 1: It is in the cap sports. I mean, you know,

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Speaker 1: in the cap sports it's a game of musical chairs,

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Speaker 1: and yes, teams, you know, only certain teams have room,

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Speaker 1: and it gives them a lot of leverage. To the

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Speaker 1: extent this has come up in bargaining. You know, we've

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Speaker 1: talked to our players, we've talked to agents to say, hey,

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Speaker 1: how do you think this would actually work, you know,

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Speaker 1: in practice, And what we've heard, I'm going to say

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Speaker 1: unanimously is that that would give more leverage to the

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Speaker 1: clubs than to the players. Just like you're saying, yes,

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Speaker 1: our free agent system drags, you know, drags along. Yes,

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Speaker 1: there are players that you know have to have to

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Speaker 1: wait until late in the game to get contracts. But

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Speaker 1: again it's been pretty unanimous, you know, when we talk

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Speaker 1: to agents, for example, that having a free agent deadline

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Speaker 1: would not be would not be good for players. Now,

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Speaker 1: there are other ways you could try and incentivize early signings.

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Speaker 1: You could offer a team that signs during the winter meetings,

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Speaker 1: you know, a compensatory draft pick or something like that

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Speaker 1: competitive balance pick. There are things that you can do.

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Speaker 1: But again, the league so far has been focused on

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Speaker 1: a free agent deadline. Which we don't think is in

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Speaker 1: the interests of players, and nor does anybody else on

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Speaker 1: our side.

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Speaker 2: So, Bruce question on competitive I would say actions by

431
00:23:13,560 --> 00:23:17,040
Speaker 2: both sides to just help drop interest. Actually on the

432
00:23:17,040 --> 00:23:19,679
Speaker 2: trade front, this one I think is important to me.

433
00:23:20,800 --> 00:23:25,280
Speaker 2: Has the union stance been that trading draft picks would

434
00:23:25,359 --> 00:23:29,120
Speaker 2: be good for the game? And if so, I believe

435
00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:32,639
Speaker 2: that MLB hasn't been on board. But obviously you're a

436
00:23:32,640 --> 00:23:34,359
Speaker 2: better source for this. But what do you know on

437
00:23:34,400 --> 00:23:34,840
Speaker 2: that front?

438
00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:40,719
Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, I think consistently this union I can

439
00:23:40,800 --> 00:23:43,879
Speaker 1: only go back to when I started in twenty eighteen,

440
00:23:43,880 --> 00:23:46,800
Speaker 1: although I'm familiar with some things that came before that.

441
00:23:47,440 --> 00:23:50,000
Speaker 1: I think this Union has consistently been in favor of

442
00:23:50,400 --> 00:23:54,200
Speaker 1: teams being able to trade draft picks Rule four draft picks,

443
00:23:55,240 --> 00:23:57,200
Speaker 1: and the reason is because we actually think it would

444
00:23:57,240 --> 00:24:00,359
Speaker 1: help competition. We think it would help, you know, the

445
00:24:00,680 --> 00:24:04,399
Speaker 1: small market teams that have those those valuable draft picks,

446
00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:08,360
Speaker 1: and they should have the flexibility to trade them if

447
00:24:08,800 --> 00:24:12,160
Speaker 1: it's in the best interest of the team. I think

448
00:24:12,280 --> 00:24:16,200
Speaker 1: many teams would probably agree, But the league, for whatever reason,

449
00:24:16,320 --> 00:24:20,119
Speaker 1: has to date, been against allowing clubs the ability to

450
00:24:20,160 --> 00:24:23,640
Speaker 1: trade Rule four draft picks. We proposed the last time

451
00:24:24,280 --> 00:24:28,040
Speaker 1: it was rejected. You know, I don't want to say

452
00:24:28,440 --> 00:24:30,280
Speaker 1: commit to much in the next round of bargaining, but

453
00:24:30,320 --> 00:24:33,400
Speaker 1: I feel pretty confident that we would propose that again

454
00:24:33,400 --> 00:24:37,560
Speaker 1: because again we think it's actually beneficial to competitive balance.

455
00:24:38,760 --> 00:24:41,479
Speaker 2: Hey, let's do a little player spotlight thanks to Arena

456
00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:44,159
Speaker 2: Club AJ Give me a player this season that you

457
00:24:44,160 --> 00:24:46,200
Speaker 2: think is underrated and you might want to try and

458
00:24:46,240 --> 00:24:46,880
Speaker 2: grab his card.

459
00:24:47,200 --> 00:24:47,760
Speaker 1: James Would.

460
00:24:47,760 --> 00:24:51,240
Speaker 4: I don't know that he's underrated, but Washington National's superstar

461
00:24:51,320 --> 00:24:53,040
Speaker 4: in the making, and the first slab pack I ever

462
00:24:53,119 --> 00:24:55,280
Speaker 4: opened had him in it, his rookie card, and the

463
00:24:55,359 --> 00:24:56,959
Speaker 4: value is only going to go up and up and up.

464
00:24:57,000 --> 00:24:58,520
Speaker 4: And I'm not going to sell it Kwie yet.

465
00:24:58,520 --> 00:24:58,800
Speaker 3: Scott.

466
00:24:58,800 --> 00:25:01,359
Speaker 4: I'm going to hold on to because after he continues

467
00:25:01,400 --> 00:25:03,640
Speaker 4: to hit big homers and put up the stats make

468
00:25:03,680 --> 00:25:06,240
Speaker 4: All Star teams, it's going to get more expensive for

469
00:25:06,320 --> 00:25:06,960
Speaker 4: someone to buy.

470
00:25:06,960 --> 00:25:08,080
Speaker 3: For me, this is his.

471
00:25:07,960 --> 00:25:10,640
Speaker 2: First full season in the majors. Keep that in mind.

472
00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:13,040
Speaker 2: I think he's underrated. He's on a Nationals team that's

473
00:25:13,240 --> 00:25:15,119
Speaker 2: may getting enough attention.

474
00:25:15,200 --> 00:25:16,080
Speaker 3: He might underrated.

475
00:25:16,480 --> 00:25:18,359
Speaker 4: When he makes the All Star team this year, They're

476
00:25:18,600 --> 00:25:19,520
Speaker 4: not going to be underrated.

477
00:25:19,600 --> 00:25:22,600
Speaker 2: That helps he's been intentionally walked four times in a game. Anyway,

478
00:25:22,640 --> 00:25:24,919
Speaker 2: if you want to try and find a wood rookie card,

479
00:25:25,080 --> 00:25:27,679
Speaker 2: go check out slab packs on Arena Club and right

480
00:25:27,720 --> 00:25:29,800
Speaker 2: now you can get twenty percent off your first slab pack.

481
00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:31,560
Speaker 2: Or if you just want to go with a card purchase,

482
00:25:31,680 --> 00:25:35,399
Speaker 2: go to Arena club dot com. Slash foul, use code foul.

483
00:25:35,440 --> 00:25:38,680
Speaker 2: If you buy, sell, trade, collect, go for it bers

484
00:25:38,720 --> 00:25:42,399
Speaker 2: And you mentioned earlier in our conversation how owners can't

485
00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:45,000
Speaker 2: talk to someone like you they'll get in trouble, which

486
00:25:45,040 --> 00:25:45,879
Speaker 2: I think is hilarious.

487
00:25:45,880 --> 00:25:47,520
Speaker 1: By the way, that's what That's what they That's what

488
00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:49,359
Speaker 1: they told me. That's what I was told.

489
00:25:49,920 --> 00:25:52,679
Speaker 2: Yeah, no, I think that's funny and it does make sense. Hey,

490
00:25:52,760 --> 00:25:55,000
Speaker 2: if you haven't had a conversation with someone, then that

491
00:25:55,040 --> 00:25:58,080
Speaker 2: would probably line it up. Since you've been obviously at

492
00:25:58,119 --> 00:26:01,600
Speaker 2: many big MLB events. So my question is do you

493
00:26:01,600 --> 00:26:04,879
Speaker 2: think there's a lot of dissension among the ownership side

494
00:26:04,920 --> 00:26:06,760
Speaker 2: when they meet and they try and come up with

495
00:26:06,840 --> 00:26:09,520
Speaker 2: what they're going to throw your way? You know, often

496
00:26:09,640 --> 00:26:13,120
Speaker 2: I've heard that there's a ton of dissension and then

497
00:26:13,200 --> 00:26:15,640
Speaker 2: everything has to result in a thirty to zero vote

498
00:26:15,640 --> 00:26:17,360
Speaker 2: so that when you come out publicly or like, see,

499
00:26:17,400 --> 00:26:19,920
Speaker 2: we were all on the same side on every single thing.

500
00:26:20,119 --> 00:26:22,639
Speaker 2: So do you feel like there's dissension on things like

501
00:26:23,119 --> 00:26:25,800
Speaker 2: even the lottery, which I thought was an awesome addition

502
00:26:25,920 --> 00:26:28,760
Speaker 2: and can prevent teams from tanking or at least punish

503
00:26:28,800 --> 00:26:31,480
Speaker 2: them if they're just getting number one picks year after year.

504
00:26:34,359 --> 00:26:38,040
Speaker 1: I want to speculate about what goes on in their meetings.

505
00:26:37,800 --> 00:26:40,159
Speaker 1: I wish I knew. I wish I had a source

506
00:26:40,600 --> 00:26:43,280
Speaker 1: for that, but I don't. But I think it's no

507
00:26:43,400 --> 00:26:46,280
Speaker 1: secret that you know there are I mean, I'm sure

508
00:26:46,320 --> 00:26:50,600
Speaker 1: there are divisions among their owners, whether that's along economic

509
00:26:50,720 --> 00:26:52,919
Speaker 1: lines or other lines, and I think we all know

510
00:26:53,040 --> 00:26:55,800
Speaker 1: that there are. And hey, look our players. I mean,

511
00:26:55,960 --> 00:26:58,880
Speaker 1: you know, we have twelve hundred major leaguers and five

512
00:26:58,880 --> 00:27:02,280
Speaker 1: thousand minor leaguers and of course you know you're going

513
00:27:02,320 --> 00:27:04,560
Speaker 1: to get people disagreeing and that's and that's healthy, and

514
00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:07,880
Speaker 1: we encourage that from our players. So again, I don't

515
00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:11,919
Speaker 1: doubt that that takes place. I do believe that it

516
00:27:12,040 --> 00:27:14,919
Speaker 1: requires a three quarters vote on their side to approve

517
00:27:14,960 --> 00:27:17,679
Speaker 1: any collective bargaining agreement. So I think if you just

518
00:27:17,720 --> 00:27:20,280
Speaker 1: do the math that means that relatively small number of

519
00:27:20,359 --> 00:27:24,679
Speaker 1: teams can can hold up an agreement, and you know

520
00:27:24,760 --> 00:27:27,919
Speaker 1: that dynamic, you know, probably plays itself out. Excuse me

521
00:27:27,960 --> 00:27:32,280
Speaker 1: from time to time, but yeah, I you know, I've

522
00:27:32,280 --> 00:27:34,280
Speaker 1: probably heard some of the same things you have. But again,

523
00:27:34,359 --> 00:27:37,120
Speaker 1: without you know, first same information, I don't really want

524
00:27:37,160 --> 00:27:41,640
Speaker 1: to speculate about their their internal conversations. I mean, again,

525
00:27:41,640 --> 00:27:43,880
Speaker 1: we have had I alluded to this before. I mean

526
00:27:43,880 --> 00:27:47,240
Speaker 1: we have had recently, you know, some owners coming out

527
00:27:47,320 --> 00:27:50,800
Speaker 1: publicly and speaking in favor of a salary cap, which

528
00:27:50,840 --> 00:27:53,080
Speaker 1: is I think a new thing at least in you know,

529
00:27:53,440 --> 00:27:55,760
Speaker 1: I can't go back in ninety four, but at least recently.

530
00:27:55,800 --> 00:27:59,600
Speaker 1: I haven't seen that before. There was an article recently

531
00:27:59,640 --> 00:28:02,639
Speaker 1: that staid one owner one would like to see not

532
00:28:02,680 --> 00:28:05,399
Speaker 1: just a salary cap for player salaries, but for coaches

533
00:28:05,480 --> 00:28:09,679
Speaker 1: salaries and scouting salaries and technology spend so that you know,

534
00:28:09,800 --> 00:28:13,080
Speaker 1: clubs can't outcompete each other. I thought that was interesting,

535
00:28:13,920 --> 00:28:15,800
Speaker 1: So I think you are seeing more of that. But

536
00:28:15,800 --> 00:28:18,000
Speaker 1: but otherwise, you know, I want to really speculate.

537
00:28:18,760 --> 00:28:20,040
Speaker 4: Okay, by the way, you want to know how to

538
00:28:20,080 --> 00:28:22,680
Speaker 4: find out what they're talking about. Just hire X owners right,

539
00:28:22,720 --> 00:28:24,680
Speaker 4: like guys that just sold the team, just bring them in.

540
00:28:25,080 --> 00:28:27,280
Speaker 4: The commission is doing that with players, so then they

541
00:28:27,320 --> 00:28:29,320
Speaker 4: get to hear what you know, all the players are saying,

542
00:28:29,359 --> 00:28:30,919
Speaker 4: So I want to just hire some X owners on

543
00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:34,080
Speaker 4: the players associations, I say, hey, with lost negotiations, we

544
00:28:34,119 --> 00:28:35,959
Speaker 4: talked about X, Y Z, and then you have all

545
00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:38,160
Speaker 4: the answers, Bruce, seems like a simple solution.

546
00:28:39,960 --> 00:28:41,600
Speaker 1: We can talk about that offline.

547
00:28:43,800 --> 00:28:46,360
Speaker 2: It sounds like there's some stories there good luck breaking,

548
00:28:47,080 --> 00:28:49,280
Speaker 2: but that's good guys pleasure.

549
00:28:50,560 --> 00:28:56,440
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, one more for you just fans.

550
00:28:56,160 --> 00:28:58,800
Speaker 2: Obviously, you know, some of this stuff gets really granular,

551
00:28:58,840 --> 00:29:01,120
Speaker 2: and fans are just like, hey, I want to watch baseball.

552
00:29:01,400 --> 00:29:06,400
Speaker 2: So are you concerned when you hear the commissioner and

553
00:29:06,560 --> 00:29:10,040
Speaker 2: owners talk about how it's almost a guarantee that we're

554
00:29:10,040 --> 00:29:12,480
Speaker 2: going to have some type of lockout. I know Tony Clark,

555
00:29:12,880 --> 00:29:16,280
Speaker 2: your colleague has mentioned this before. The stance is, why

556
00:29:16,280 --> 00:29:18,240
Speaker 2: the heck would you want to stop the sport, even

557
00:29:18,280 --> 00:29:20,280
Speaker 2: in the off season, for any period of time, right?

558
00:29:23,320 --> 00:29:25,360
Speaker 1: Ye, I mean, look, it's it's it's it's up to

559
00:29:25,400 --> 00:29:29,240
Speaker 1: the owners whether to do a lockout or not. They

560
00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:33,600
Speaker 1: they did it last time and I've seen the comments

561
00:29:33,600 --> 00:29:36,680
Speaker 1: that suggests that they're definitely going to do it this time.

562
00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:40,360
Speaker 1: It doesn't surprise me, but it does suggest that, you know,

563
00:29:40,640 --> 00:29:42,880
Speaker 1: maybe maybe, I mean, what are we doing then for

564
00:29:42,960 --> 00:29:46,600
Speaker 1: the months before that when we're supposedly bargaining in good faith?

565
00:29:46,680 --> 00:29:48,960
Speaker 1: If a lockout is a short thing, I mean to

566
00:29:49,080 --> 00:29:51,800
Speaker 1: be clear, a lockout is a weapon. So a weapon

567
00:29:51,840 --> 00:29:55,280
Speaker 1: that management uses in the labor dispute is their decision

568
00:29:55,440 --> 00:29:59,520
Speaker 1: to lock the doors, close, close the camps last time,

569
00:29:59,520 --> 00:30:01,360
Speaker 1: as you remain members in the lockout, they took all

570
00:30:01,400 --> 00:30:04,880
Speaker 1: the players pictures off the website and so that they're

571
00:30:04,880 --> 00:30:07,040
Speaker 1: not promoting the game. It's it's a bad thing for

572
00:30:07,080 --> 00:30:09,320
Speaker 1: the games, the bad thing for fans. It's a bad

573
00:30:09,320 --> 00:30:13,280
Speaker 1: thing obviously for players and their families. You know, you

574
00:30:13,400 --> 00:30:16,120
Speaker 1: hope and expect that both sites come in ready to

575
00:30:16,200 --> 00:30:20,680
Speaker 1: negotiate in good faith with no preconceived notions. But you know,

576
00:30:20,720 --> 00:30:24,600
Speaker 1: the reality is is that a lockout is their main

577
00:30:24,800 --> 00:30:31,360
Speaker 1: economic weapon, and so certainly certainly we'll be prepared for

578
00:30:31,400 --> 00:30:32,520
Speaker 1: that if that's how it goes.

579
00:30:33,520 --> 00:30:34,040
Speaker 3: All rights.

580
00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:39,000
Speaker 4: Last thing, I'm a baseball fan obviously grew up played baseball. Well,

581
00:30:39,040 --> 00:30:41,680
Speaker 4: I love watching baseball, love talking about baseball. Give us

582
00:30:41,680 --> 00:30:44,040
Speaker 4: some give us some hope, though, Please give us some

583
00:30:44,040 --> 00:30:46,920
Speaker 4: hope that there won't be a lockout, and give us

584
00:30:47,040 --> 00:30:49,040
Speaker 4: you know, I know you're if I ask you, you're

585
00:30:49,080 --> 00:30:50,600
Speaker 4: not going to give me a percentage because you don't

586
00:30:50,640 --> 00:30:53,600
Speaker 4: negotiate like that. But give me some hope on why

587
00:30:53,640 --> 00:30:55,320
Speaker 4: there won't be a lockout and how we can get

588
00:30:55,320 --> 00:30:58,280
Speaker 4: this done, because this is the first This is honestly

589
00:30:58,320 --> 00:31:01,000
Speaker 4: the first negotiation I can remember. And I was there

590
00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:03,640
Speaker 4: in ninety four when the strike. I got drafted that year.

591
00:31:03,760 --> 00:31:06,040
Speaker 4: My first spring training was replacement players and all that

592
00:31:06,080 --> 00:31:08,040
Speaker 4: whole mess. And then I was there in two thousand

593
00:31:08,040 --> 00:31:10,440
Speaker 4: and two and we had different buses, one going to

594
00:31:10,520 --> 00:31:12,400
Speaker 4: the field, one going to the airport in case there

595
00:31:12,480 --> 00:31:15,160
Speaker 4: was a strike, and then we settled at the deadline.

596
00:31:15,280 --> 00:31:17,320
Speaker 4: And obviously I missed the one a few years back

597
00:31:17,360 --> 00:31:19,479
Speaker 4: when the lockout happened and all that. But I've been

598
00:31:19,480 --> 00:31:23,120
Speaker 4: through all this before. I've been in negotiating offices in

599
00:31:23,200 --> 00:31:25,520
Speaker 4: Chicago with Jerry Reinsdorf sitting across from me, and we

600
00:31:25,560 --> 00:31:27,120
Speaker 4: had a bunch of players and they brought in their

601
00:31:27,120 --> 00:31:29,560
Speaker 4: people and we sat there for hours before a game

602
00:31:29,600 --> 00:31:32,280
Speaker 4: and talked but give me some hope as to why

603
00:31:32,320 --> 00:31:34,360
Speaker 4: this one happened, because this is the first negotiation I

604
00:31:34,360 --> 00:31:37,680
Speaker 4: can remember where everybody is saying, Oh, there's going to

605
00:31:37,720 --> 00:31:39,760
Speaker 4: be this, there's gonna be this, It's going to be awful.

606
00:31:40,160 --> 00:31:41,920
Speaker 3: Why does it have to be awful? Why can't we

607
00:31:42,040 --> 00:31:42,680
Speaker 3: just get along?

608
00:31:45,480 --> 00:31:47,320
Speaker 1: Yeah? I mean, look, as they said, a lockout of

609
00:31:47,400 --> 00:31:51,880
Speaker 1: something they do, it's not something we do. You know.

610
00:31:51,920 --> 00:31:53,840
Speaker 1: The only thing I could say to try and try

611
00:31:53,880 --> 00:31:56,600
Speaker 1: and address that with you or any fans is we

612
00:31:56,960 --> 00:31:59,560
Speaker 1: don't want to work, suth, we don't want to miss games.

613
00:31:59,640 --> 00:32:03,160
Speaker 1: In fact, what's interesting people seem to not realize this,

614
00:32:03,760 --> 00:32:07,080
Speaker 1: Baseball since the ninety four strike has not missed a

615
00:32:07,120 --> 00:32:09,800
Speaker 1: single game and has had far fewer work stoppages than

616
00:32:09,840 --> 00:32:12,040
Speaker 1: the other sports. In fact, one of the things that

617
00:32:12,880 --> 00:32:15,760
Speaker 1: find educate players on is, you know, the salary cap

618
00:32:15,880 --> 00:32:19,440
Speaker 1: actually guarantees more lockouts, more work stoppages, more miss games,

619
00:32:19,880 --> 00:32:22,400
Speaker 1: because the history in the cap sports is once they

620
00:32:22,440 --> 00:32:24,920
Speaker 1: get you in that system, the owners just keep locking

621
00:32:24,960 --> 00:32:27,720
Speaker 1: the players out to get the players percentage down. There

622
00:32:27,720 --> 00:32:30,360
Speaker 1: were four lockouts in the NBA since nineteen ninety four,

623
00:32:30,440 --> 00:32:33,640
Speaker 1: two of which miss significant parts of the season. Right,

624
00:32:34,600 --> 00:32:38,800
Speaker 1: So you know, I look as I always have hope,

625
00:32:39,160 --> 00:32:41,360
Speaker 1: as you say, you know, I think we've got reasonable

626
00:32:41,400 --> 00:32:44,520
Speaker 1: people on both sides, hopefully. I don't think it's in

627
00:32:44,560 --> 00:32:47,400
Speaker 1: the economic interest of the owners or the game to

628
00:32:47,480 --> 00:32:50,320
Speaker 1: shut down the game. They're making lots of money. I

629
00:32:50,440 --> 00:32:54,320
Speaker 1: keep seeing, you know, just today I saw something record

630
00:32:54,800 --> 00:32:59,080
Speaker 1: record ratings, you know, record attendants. They're making money, franchise

631
00:32:59,160 --> 00:33:02,480
Speaker 1: values going up, so there's no reason why it has

632
00:33:02,560 --> 00:33:07,000
Speaker 1: to happen. We will be there whenever the other side

633
00:33:07,080 --> 00:33:12,600
Speaker 1: is ready to negotiate, and we will be there with creativity,

634
00:33:12,680 --> 00:33:15,160
Speaker 1: and we will be there doing everything we can to

635
00:33:15,200 --> 00:33:18,240
Speaker 1: try and kind of avoid That is really the best

636
00:33:18,280 --> 00:33:18,840
Speaker 1: I can say.

637
00:33:19,760 --> 00:33:22,360
Speaker 2: Well, Bruce, thank you for joining us. Really appreciate the

638
00:33:22,400 --> 00:33:24,600
Speaker 2: extended time. This was super helpful. And you know, we

639
00:33:24,640 --> 00:33:26,560
Speaker 2: get these fan questions all the time, so it's great

640
00:33:26,600 --> 00:33:28,960
Speaker 2: to have someone on the inside of these conversations.

641
00:33:29,160 --> 00:33:29,480
Speaker 1: Scott.

642
00:33:30,200 --> 00:33:33,440
Speaker 4: But Scott cap sports. They never have lockouts and they

643
00:33:33,440 --> 00:33:36,440
Speaker 4: never have strikes. Oh wait, they have way more because

644
00:33:36,440 --> 00:33:38,560
Speaker 4: it's so much easier than for the owners to ask

645
00:33:38,600 --> 00:33:41,280
Speaker 4: for more. The hockey players gave back twenty five percent

646
00:33:41,320 --> 00:33:44,040
Speaker 4: one year. They gave back twenty five percent of their

647
00:33:44,080 --> 00:33:47,600
Speaker 4: guaranteed salaries. This is why it's so important, Bruce, for

648
00:33:47,640 --> 00:33:49,200
Speaker 4: to have you on and to get both sides of this,

649
00:33:49,320 --> 00:33:51,479
Speaker 4: because so many times out there we just hear from

650
00:33:51,560 --> 00:33:53,520
Speaker 4: Rob and we never get to hear the players side.

651
00:33:53,520 --> 00:33:56,360
Speaker 3: So thank you. I have so many more questions, guys.

652
00:33:56,560 --> 00:33:58,400
Speaker 3: We can talk for hours next time.

653
00:33:58,480 --> 00:34:00,760
Speaker 2: Next time, Bruce, will you come back at some point when.

654
00:34:00,680 --> 00:34:01,280
Speaker 3: This heats up.

655
00:34:02,640 --> 00:34:04,800
Speaker 1: I have to check with my boss, but I don't

656
00:34:04,840 --> 00:34:05,320
Speaker 1: see why not.

657
00:34:05,880 --> 00:34:10,239
Speaker 2: Okay, awesome, thanks again, Bruce, really appreciate the time. Thank you, guys,

658
00:34:10,480 --> 00:34:13,880
Speaker 2: And yes, great point there. Aj Also, by the way,

659
00:34:14,480 --> 00:34:16,319
Speaker 2: for people that are going to watch us later on

660
00:34:16,360 --> 00:34:18,480
Speaker 2: and be like, oh, it's players that are on the show, Yeah,

661
00:34:18,480 --> 00:34:20,280
Speaker 2: you're right. It is players that are on the show

662
00:34:20,520 --> 00:34:23,879
Speaker 2: who asked Rob Manfred directly to join us, and the

663
00:34:23,920 --> 00:34:26,000
Speaker 2: invitation is open. I know someone from the league is

664
00:34:26,040 --> 00:34:29,520
Speaker 2: definitely watching right now. We would absolutely love to have

665
00:34:29,640 --> 00:34:32,080
Speaker 2: Rob join us on the show. The invitation is more

666
00:34:32,080 --> 00:34:35,319
Speaker 2: than open. Or anybody that's involved in those negotiations, we

667
00:34:35,360 --> 00:34:37,680
Speaker 2: would love to have you on and ask the same

668
00:34:37,800 --> 00:34:40,680
Speaker 2: damn questions. So there's not a narrative here, there's an

669
00:34:40,719 --> 00:34:45,640
Speaker 2: opinion for sure. For example, someone Steven in the chat

670
00:34:45,840 --> 00:34:47,640
Speaker 2: or who is it Michael in the chat? So they're

671
00:34:47,760 --> 00:34:50,520
Speaker 2: very curious to hear someone like Kratz's opinion, since skrats

672
00:34:50,560 --> 00:34:53,279
Speaker 2: you weren't getting these massive contracts, And do you think

673
00:34:53,320 --> 00:34:57,240
Speaker 2: Manfred has a point? Oh, we're costing you, costing yourself

674
00:34:57,320 --> 00:34:59,360
Speaker 2: so much money. You guys could make so much more.

675
00:35:00,719 --> 00:35:04,200
Speaker 3: Yeah, but I can't. Okay, So this is negotiations between

676
00:35:04,280 --> 00:35:08,320
Speaker 3: two sides. I can't trust somebody who was the one

677
00:35:08,440 --> 00:35:12,080
Speaker 3: that took that money away. You could have easily if

678
00:35:12,160 --> 00:35:15,000
Speaker 3: if you're if you're pandering, because I think Rob's pandering

679
00:35:15,080 --> 00:35:18,160
Speaker 3: to type of player like me. The eighty five percent

680
00:35:18,239 --> 00:35:21,560
Speaker 3: of players who don't ever reach free agency don't ever

681
00:35:21,640 --> 00:35:24,400
Speaker 3: make multi millions of dollars. If that was the case,

682
00:35:24,440 --> 00:35:27,560
Speaker 3: if you could have gotten me more money, why would

683
00:35:27,560 --> 00:35:30,680
Speaker 3: I want to listen to you, Because you could have.

684
00:35:31,520 --> 00:35:33,360
Speaker 3: You could have given it to us, You could have

685
00:35:33,440 --> 00:35:38,000
Speaker 3: made it more economical for us, because that, in my opinion,

686
00:35:38,040 --> 00:35:41,880
Speaker 3: would have grown the game. Pandering to the people that

687
00:35:41,920 --> 00:35:44,319
Speaker 3: you didn't pay and then say, hey, you know what,

688
00:35:44,400 --> 00:35:48,279
Speaker 3: come on over and I would have gotten you paid more. No,

689
00:35:48,440 --> 00:35:50,839
Speaker 3: I'm not gonna trust like what. No, I'm not gonna

690
00:35:50,880 --> 00:35:53,759
Speaker 3: trust you. I can't. I can't, And they have to

691
00:35:53,800 --> 00:35:55,560
Speaker 3: come at it a different way. They have to come

692
00:35:55,600 --> 00:35:58,400
Speaker 3: at it in a sense of I'm gonna help you

693
00:35:58,440 --> 00:36:01,959
Speaker 3: guys make the game more competitive. I'm going to help

694
00:36:02,080 --> 00:36:07,279
Speaker 3: you guys be paid more equally. And we're also going

695
00:36:07,320 --> 00:36:09,560
Speaker 3: to show you that the other teams that don't try

696
00:36:09,560 --> 00:36:12,680
Speaker 3: to compete, that don't go and get free agents that

697
00:36:12,719 --> 00:36:15,560
Speaker 3: are available, not the big time, not the seven hundred

698
00:36:15,560 --> 00:36:18,920
Speaker 3: million dollar players, but the other guys. Then I might

699
00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:21,279
Speaker 3: start listening. Then I might start because that's all I

700
00:36:21,360 --> 00:36:23,080
Speaker 3: was in the game for, was competing.

701
00:36:24,320 --> 00:36:26,560
Speaker 2: Yeah, Kratz, I promise you this. From the other set,

702
00:36:26,560 --> 00:36:29,440
Speaker 2: they don't give a crap. They've got one goal. Get

703
00:36:29,480 --> 00:36:30,120
Speaker 2: as much of the.

704
00:36:30,080 --> 00:36:31,040
Speaker 3: Pot as possible.

705
00:36:31,120 --> 00:36:32,960
Speaker 2: That is the goal. I promise you that. To a

706
00:36:33,040 --> 00:36:36,279
Speaker 2: t A couple other quick questions we'll get to maybe

707
00:36:36,320 --> 00:36:39,160
Speaker 2: later on in another one of the breaks. Does abs

708
00:36:39,160 --> 00:36:42,279
Speaker 2: need to be agreed upon by MLBPA, I don't know.

709
00:36:42,480 --> 00:36:42,880
Speaker 2: It doesn't.

710
00:36:42,920 --> 00:36:44,120
Speaker 3: There's just a committee.

711
00:36:44,440 --> 00:36:45,600
Speaker 2: Yeah, so good question.

712
00:36:45,840 --> 00:36:48,120
Speaker 4: It doesn't matter. If you notice in the rules committee

713
00:36:48,160 --> 00:36:49,960
Speaker 4: there's five owner side four players, so.

714
00:36:49,920 --> 00:36:51,399
Speaker 3: It automatically goes through the older one.

715
00:36:51,440 --> 00:36:53,480
Speaker 4: Anyways, it's not even a fair comite,