WEBVTT - Q&A w/MLBPA Interim Exec Director Bruce Meyer: Inside the proposals 0:00:01.760 --> 0:00:05.760 MLBPA interim executive director Bruce Meyer with us. He leads 0:00:05.800 --> 0:00:08.440 the union, joining us live on FT right now. Bruce, 0:00:08.480 --> 0:00:14.960 thank you so much for the time. How you doing today. 0:00:13.080 --> 0:00:17.480 I'm doing great. I'm disappointed AJ is not here when 0:00:17.520 --> 0:00:19.880 I came on you. When I came on your shows 0:00:19.880 --> 0:00:23.280 the first time, he started out by busting MAINO. What's 0:00:23.320 --> 0:00:26.520 about appearing nervous? So I was I was looking to, 0:00:26.640 --> 0:00:29.400 you know, give it back to him. But there'll be 0:00:29.440 --> 0:00:32.199 time for that in the future. And he's with the Pope. 0:00:33.560 --> 0:00:36.640 He's busy with the Pope. That is exactly right, And yes, 0:00:36.800 --> 0:00:38.279 there will be time in the future and you can 0:00:38.280 --> 0:00:40.200 say whatever you want about him when he's not here, 0:00:40.240 --> 0:00:42.880 which is always great. So let's get into bizz a 0:00:42.920 --> 0:00:45.879 little bit here. Proposals being exchanged left and right with 0:00:46.040 --> 0:00:50.880 MLB and the Players Association. I'll start here with you, Bruce. 0:00:50.960 --> 0:00:54.880 I mean, the public sentiment is, oh, MLB is pushing 0:00:55.000 --> 0:00:58.760 a salary cap here. So can other things actually get 0:00:58.800 --> 0:01:02.120 accomplished because we're seeing all of these other details coming 0:01:02.120 --> 0:01:04.920 out right now or does that part need to be 0:01:05.080 --> 0:01:07.680 addressed or obviously for your side, I'm sure taken down 0:01:07.760 --> 0:01:09.080 to really get some work done. 0:01:11.240 --> 0:01:14.120 There are other things we can make proposals on. Both 0:01:14.160 --> 0:01:17.520 sides can make proposals on. We'll keep meeting. We made 0:01:17.560 --> 0:01:21.319 some proposals yesterday which you probably saw, relating to things 0:01:21.360 --> 0:01:25.520 like gambling and other things, and we'll be making proposals 0:01:25.560 --> 0:01:28.920 in the coming coming days and weeks on a number 0:01:28.920 --> 0:01:30.840 of things. So there are a lot of other things 0:01:30.880 --> 0:01:34.480 to talk about. But in terms of the core economic issues, 0:01:34.600 --> 0:01:40.920 it's very hard when we're into completely different universes. That's 0:01:41.040 --> 0:01:43.640 really the where we are at the moment. 0:01:45.200 --> 0:01:48.560 My question to you is the proposal that MLB just 0:01:48.600 --> 0:01:50.400 came up with, is that going to put more or 0:01:50.520 --> 0:01:53.040 less money in the player's pockets that there's been some 0:01:53.120 --> 0:01:54.640 kind of confusion about the whole thing. 0:01:56.360 --> 0:01:57.440 Yeah, thanks for asking you. 0:01:58.160 --> 0:02:02.080 I agree, it's maybe not entirely clear as some of 0:02:02.120 --> 0:02:05.720 the statements that the commissioners may in the league made 0:02:06.400 --> 0:02:10.919 their proposal would result in overall way less money going 0:02:10.919 --> 0:02:14.720 to players, Putting aside all the other things about a 0:02:14.760 --> 0:02:18.760 salary cap that we don't like that basically takes away 0:02:18.760 --> 0:02:21.840 the ability of players to structure their contracts or have 0:02:21.960 --> 0:02:25.040 full guarantees and all those other things. Just in terms 0:02:25.080 --> 0:02:28.639 of math, the proposal that the owners have made. Were 0:02:28.720 --> 0:02:32.120 their proposals in place for this year, players would have 0:02:32.120 --> 0:02:35.160 made over half a billion dollars less than they would 0:02:35.200 --> 0:02:40.520 make now. Stated differently, their proposed share of revenues, you 0:02:40.600 --> 0:02:42.960 have to look at how they define it and what 0:02:43.000 --> 0:02:47.600 they deduct off the top and what they count against players' share. 0:02:47.800 --> 0:02:53.079 If under their definitions, we already make an excess of 0:02:53.200 --> 0:02:55.919 fifty five of the revenues, so when they say we'll 0:02:55.919 --> 0:02:59.400 give you fifty, it's actually a massive reduction. That's the 0:02:59.400 --> 0:03:03.440 same in their amateur proposals. They're proposing hundreds of millions 0:03:03.440 --> 0:03:07.960 of dollars less in amateur signing bonuses, both domestic and 0:03:08.040 --> 0:03:11.679 international entry. I think it's four hundred million in year one, 0:03:12.040 --> 0:03:15.400 billions of dollars over time. So again, in addition to 0:03:15.560 --> 0:03:18.799 all of the other problems with their proposals, and there 0:03:18.800 --> 0:03:22.239 are many many, just as a matter of math, they're 0:03:22.280 --> 0:03:26.520 actually proposing not only players giving up fundamental rights, but 0:03:26.760 --> 0:03:29.400 a massive pay cup for players. 0:03:30.680 --> 0:03:34.080 You said, you said the languages are completely different that 0:03:34.160 --> 0:03:37.040 we're talking about in these two with the two sides, 0:03:37.600 --> 0:03:40.400 how can we get on the same page as far 0:03:40.440 --> 0:03:44.360 as like what players want and also what fans want 0:03:44.440 --> 0:03:48.080 and also what the owners want and create that same 0:03:48.160 --> 0:03:50.920 language within the context of what you were just talking about. 0:03:52.840 --> 0:03:55.280 I think there are some common interests, or there should 0:03:55.320 --> 0:03:58.600 be some common interests. We both have an interest in 0:03:58.680 --> 0:04:03.000 seeing that that the sport continues to grow. We both 0:04:03.000 --> 0:04:06.880 have an interest in seeing that fans have a good 0:04:06.880 --> 0:04:10.880 experience and are happy. We both have an interest in 0:04:11.440 --> 0:04:14.000 seeing that, you know, the game doesn't get shut down. 0:04:14.080 --> 0:04:17.080 Hopefully those common interests, you know, at the end of 0:04:17.120 --> 0:04:22.280 the day take precedence. But you know, I mean they've 0:04:22.320 --> 0:04:25.919 put something on the table that they know they know 0:04:26.120 --> 0:04:28.520 the last time they put it on the table led 0:04:28.520 --> 0:04:31.520 to a massive workstopage. I mean, they have chosen to 0:04:31.520 --> 0:04:34.200 put something on the table that they know players have 0:04:34.240 --> 0:04:38.080 fought against for decades, and it's actually worse than that. 0:04:38.120 --> 0:04:42.440 They've actually put together a proposal that's like a Frankenstein 0:04:42.560 --> 0:04:45.960 monster of the worst elements of all the other systems 0:04:45.960 --> 0:04:48.560 and actually then even made them worse. So they know 0:04:48.600 --> 0:04:50.880 what they're doing, and you know, at the end of 0:04:50.880 --> 0:04:53.080 the day, if they do a lockout, that's their choice 0:04:53.080 --> 0:04:57.280 to do that. So you know, we're going to bargain 0:04:57.279 --> 0:04:58.920 in good faith as we always do. We're going to 0:04:58.960 --> 0:05:02.800 listen to an analyze their proposals, but you know, these 0:05:02.800 --> 0:05:06.400 are choices that they've made to make these kind of 0:05:06.440 --> 0:05:10.360 extreme radical proposals. And having said that, we've made proposals, 0:05:11.720 --> 0:05:14.240 as you know, that we believe are designed to help 0:05:14.279 --> 0:05:17.359 players at all levels and we also think are in 0:05:17.400 --> 0:05:20.240 the best interests of the game and the fans. You know, 0:05:20.279 --> 0:05:24.080 their proposals for things like the salary cap. You know, 0:05:24.120 --> 0:05:26.839 they say, well, we're just listening to fans, but that's 0:05:27.040 --> 0:05:29.560 that's not true. I mean, they're they're trying to increase 0:05:29.600 --> 0:05:34.200 their profits and their franchise values. You know, threatening lockouts 0:05:34.640 --> 0:05:38.640 isn't in the interest of fans and telling teams that, well, 0:05:38.680 --> 0:05:40.920 you can't sign the guys that you think and your 0:05:41.000 --> 0:05:42.960 judgment are going to help the team because of a 0:05:43.000 --> 0:05:47.000 salary cap. That's not in the interest of fans. Having 0:05:48.000 --> 0:05:53.160 every fan focusing on a possible shutdown because of your 0:05:53.200 --> 0:05:57.400 proposals as opposed to celebrating the game is not in 0:05:57.440 --> 0:05:58.880 the interest of fans. You know, we have the All 0:05:58.920 --> 0:06:01.640 Star Game coming up again. It should be a celebration 0:06:02.160 --> 0:06:05.760 of the game. That's what players are focused on, and instead, 0:06:05.880 --> 0:06:08.800 because of the league's pr. 0:06:08.720 --> 0:06:10.039 And and and their proposals. 0:06:10.120 --> 0:06:12.640 You know, everybody is going to be talking about other 0:06:12.720 --> 0:06:15.240 things other than the players and the great game we have. 0:06:15.400 --> 0:06:18.880 So we we we made proposals also. 0:06:18.800 --> 0:06:22.240 That we think do reflect a common interest, and we 0:06:22.279 --> 0:06:25.680 made proposals to allow the league to share more revenues, 0:06:26.279 --> 0:06:29.960 to actually give the teams, the lower revenue teams, you know, 0:06:30.040 --> 0:06:33.680 more in revenue sharing. We think there are there are 0:06:33.720 --> 0:06:36.920 win wins there. We think that that addresses, you know, 0:06:36.960 --> 0:06:40.320 some of the concerns they've raised. But again, they've responded 0:06:40.360 --> 0:06:44.280 with a whole series of proposals that would effectively, you know, 0:06:44.400 --> 0:06:48.360 completely turn back the clock on decades of player rights, 0:06:48.400 --> 0:06:52.200 require players to take pay cuts, hurt the game in 0:06:52.240 --> 0:06:55.680 other ways by not allowing players to start their careers 0:06:56.600 --> 0:06:59.680 as early as they currently can. So look, right now, 0:06:59.680 --> 0:07:03.160 we're very far apart, but it's early and you know, 0:07:03.240 --> 0:07:04.640 we're going to keep meeting. 0:07:04.880 --> 0:07:08.800 At some point we'll have a deal, But right now 0:07:08.800 --> 0:07:09.720 we are where we are. 0:07:10.720 --> 0:07:13.320 You bring up fans a lot, and I think that 0:07:13.360 --> 0:07:16.120 they're getting tricked just a little bit here talking about parody. 0:07:16.160 --> 0:07:19.240 I mean, you see how good the White Sox team 0:07:19.360 --> 0:07:21.960 is doing compared to the Mets, who have all this money, 0:07:22.040 --> 0:07:25.840 have the highest payroll. The Brewers are still dominating and 0:07:25.880 --> 0:07:27.840 the Red Sox aren't doing well. So can you just 0:07:27.920 --> 0:07:30.120 enlighten us a little bit about you know, maybe the 0:07:30.160 --> 0:07:32.440 fans are getting tricked here. They want everything equal, but 0:07:32.720 --> 0:07:35.400 these lower level teams are absolutely doing what they do 0:07:35.480 --> 0:07:37.080 best and they're they're winning ball games. 0:07:37.080 --> 0:07:39.640 Now, yeah, I know. 0:07:39.720 --> 0:07:43.320 Look, I always point out that the Brewers are literally 0:07:43.360 --> 0:07:45.960 the smallest market under our CBA where we have market 0:07:46.000 --> 0:07:49.360 square rankings, the Brewers are thirtieth out of thirty and 0:07:49.360 --> 0:07:51.080 they had the best record in baseball this year and 0:07:51.120 --> 0:07:54.760 they're doing great again this year. You know, Tampa is successful. 0:07:55.680 --> 0:07:58.680 So the notion that the lower revenue teams or the 0:07:58.680 --> 0:08:02.600 small market teams can't compete the problem is that a 0:08:02.600 --> 0:08:06.560 lot of those owners choose not to compete a lot 0:08:06.600 --> 0:08:09.280 of those owners are not doing everything they can to 0:08:09.400 --> 0:08:12.000 put the best team on the field every day and 0:08:12.040 --> 0:08:12.840 try for everyone. 0:08:12.880 --> 0:08:15.600 And the fans know this. I mean the fans, you know. 0:08:15.880 --> 0:08:18.400 I often say the league is saying, hey, we're just 0:08:18.520 --> 0:08:21.720 listening to fans, but they're not listening to the fans 0:08:21.800 --> 0:08:25.120 all around baseball who are literally chanting and holding up 0:08:25.160 --> 0:08:27.800 signs that they want their owners to sell the team 0:08:28.120 --> 0:08:30.600 because they're not trying to compete. You know, that part 0:08:31.360 --> 0:08:34.880 the league apparently is not listening to. So from our standpoint, 0:08:36.080 --> 0:08:39.400 every team has the ability to compete, and even under 0:08:39.440 --> 0:08:43.560 the current system, as you probably know, the lower revenue 0:08:43.600 --> 0:08:48.320 teams make massive amounts of money in subsidies from other teams, 0:08:48.440 --> 0:08:51.960 teams like the Dodgers and other teams, Hundreds and hundreds 0:08:52.000 --> 0:08:54.880 of millions of dollars they get in revenue sharing, in 0:08:55.000 --> 0:08:59.320 luxury tax proceeds, in central revenues, and then they'll go 0:08:59.360 --> 0:09:03.600 out until the oh, you know, we can't afford to compete. Well, 0:09:03.440 --> 0:09:07.320 we actually see a lot of the financials, and the 0:09:07.400 --> 0:09:10.120 league requires us to keep it confidential, and the league 0:09:10.200 --> 0:09:13.559 is not volunteering to show those books to the fans. 0:09:13.960 --> 0:09:17.079 But you know, when a team says to their fans 0:09:17.200 --> 0:09:19.840 we can't afford it, very often, it's just not true. 0:09:19.960 --> 0:09:23.160 Every team in the league can afford to be competitive. 0:09:23.240 --> 0:09:25.199 It's really an excuse, and that's one of the reasons 0:09:25.200 --> 0:09:27.640 why they want the salary caps so badly, because the 0:09:27.640 --> 0:09:31.800 salary cap gives teams the ultimate excuse not to compete. 0:09:31.840 --> 0:09:35.400 You know, I'd like to sign this player, But you know, 0:09:35.480 --> 0:09:39.520 my hands are tied by the salary cap. I've referred 0:09:39.559 --> 0:09:42.040 to it as like an owner protection plan. It's it's 0:09:42.120 --> 0:09:45.800 anti competitive. It protects them from having to compete, and 0:09:45.800 --> 0:09:48.600 that's why at the end of the day, they want 0:09:48.640 --> 0:09:52.280 it in addition to increasing their their profits. So we 0:09:52.360 --> 0:09:56.800 made composals that we think will incentivize competition. We propose 0:09:57.320 --> 0:10:00.520 something called it a competitive integrity tax, which is really 0:10:00.880 --> 0:10:05.120 a reflection of the competitive balance tax, which penalizes teams 0:10:05.160 --> 0:10:05.600 for spending. 0:10:05.640 --> 0:10:08.480 This would actually penalize teams for not spending. 0:10:09.040 --> 0:10:12.400 We've made proposals to require teams that get revenue sharing 0:10:12.480 --> 0:10:15.600 money to actually have more requirements to have to spend 0:10:15.640 --> 0:10:17.360 it to make the team better, which is what revenue 0:10:17.360 --> 0:10:19.920 straring is supposed to be for. So again, we've made 0:10:19.920 --> 0:10:22.280 a lot of proposals that we think are in the 0:10:22.280 --> 0:10:26.600 interests of everybody, fans, players and the game to actually 0:10:27.400 --> 0:10:30.960 have a system that incentivizes teams to win and doesn't 0:10:31.000 --> 0:10:33.719 reward teams who are not trying to win. 0:10:34.920 --> 0:10:36.440 What do you see in those financials. 0:10:36.480 --> 0:10:39.800 I know you're not you're obligated to not discuss the financials, 0:10:40.120 --> 0:10:43.800 but what are things that you can tell us that 0:10:44.760 --> 0:10:47.520 we don't see as fans, or that the owners hide 0:10:47.559 --> 0:10:50.240 from fans that I have seen as an ex player 0:10:50.280 --> 0:10:52.640 when I was on when I was in the. 0:10:52.520 --> 0:10:56.520 PA, I'd said, there are a few things. 0:10:56.559 --> 0:11:02.720 I mean, the smaller market teams or the lower revenue 0:11:02.760 --> 0:11:07.800 teams in general, are the most profitable teams in baseball, 0:11:08.960 --> 0:11:12.280 the most profitable right. And again, we have a system 0:11:12.280 --> 0:11:15.240 now at revenue sharing which really doesn't make sense, which 0:11:15.280 --> 0:11:18.480 allows teams to get all these subsidies from the other 0:11:18.520 --> 0:11:21.600 teams and from Major League Baseball and not have to 0:11:22.080 --> 0:11:24.120 spend it to make the team better for the fans. 0:11:24.200 --> 0:11:26.920 So you know, that's a big thing. Again, I don't 0:11:26.920 --> 0:11:32.679 think fans know how much each team gets in those subsidies, 0:11:32.720 --> 0:11:39.480 central revenues, revenue sharing payments, and luxury tax proceeds. We've 0:11:39.480 --> 0:11:42.360 actually proposed in our last round of proposals, we've proposed 0:11:42.360 --> 0:11:46.120 to make it clear that teams should disclose those things 0:11:46.160 --> 0:11:48.840 to fans. How much they get in revenue sharing, how 0:11:48.920 --> 0:11:51.360 much they get in luxury tax proceeds, which are hundreds 0:11:51.400 --> 0:11:54.240 of millions of dollars that goes to the lower revenue teams. 0:11:54.280 --> 0:11:58.560 So I think, you know, if fans saw how much 0:11:58.760 --> 0:12:02.480 in the current system, Uh, those those teams actually get 0:12:03.400 --> 0:12:05.439 for the purpose of trying to help them compete, even 0:12:05.480 --> 0:12:07.720 though they they don't all use it for that. I 0:12:07.720 --> 0:12:10.280 think that would be very very eye opening. And again, 0:12:10.360 --> 0:12:13.520 our proposals would actually allow them to receive even more, 0:12:14.200 --> 0:12:17.320 but subject them to restrict the requirements to actually have 0:12:17.400 --> 0:12:19.760 to have to use the money for the intended purpose, 0:12:19.800 --> 0:12:22.120 which is to put a better team on the field. 0:12:23.760 --> 0:12:26.240 And I say, I'm sorry the eric, I'm sorry. This 0:12:26.240 --> 0:12:28.560 is one other thing, which is, you know, all the 0:12:28.640 --> 0:12:33.920 stuff around the ballpars now the battery in Atlanta, because 0:12:33.920 --> 0:12:36.720 they're sort of semi public. You know, a lot of 0:12:36.720 --> 0:12:40.240 information comes out about how much profit that they make. 0:12:41.040 --> 0:12:44.880 It's not complete information, but I think again a lot 0:12:44.880 --> 0:12:47.200 of teams are all trying to replicate, you know, the 0:12:47.240 --> 0:12:50.680 battery and generating more and more revenues from around the ballpark. 0:12:51.080 --> 0:12:53.800 So that's another thing that's not you know, that's not 0:12:53.960 --> 0:12:57.880 obvious or transparent to the public. Franchise values well, we 0:12:57.920 --> 0:13:00.800 haven't talked about that. I mean, that's where they end 0:13:00.880 --> 0:13:04.000 up making most of their money. I mean, that's generally public, 0:13:04.080 --> 0:13:06.520 although not the exact details. But you know, that's That's 0:13:06.520 --> 0:13:09.240 another thing that when you hear a team say, well, 0:13:09.280 --> 0:13:11.160 you know, we don't really make a lot of money, 0:13:11.440 --> 0:13:14.840 you know, they always leave out the massive appreciation in 0:13:14.920 --> 0:13:18.480 franchise value. As you see San Diego obviously a small 0:13:18.559 --> 0:13:20.360 market that decided it was going to go out and 0:13:20.360 --> 0:13:24.120 compete and turn the team around both on the field 0:13:24.160 --> 0:13:27.960 and in terms of you know, financial profitability, and was 0:13:27.960 --> 0:13:31.000 rewarded with this massive increase in franchise values. 0:13:31.880 --> 0:13:35.120 Talking about making more money, I'm a big guy on 0:13:35.320 --> 0:13:37.760 talking big market small market. 0:13:37.960 --> 0:13:38.840 I can't stand it. 0:13:38.880 --> 0:13:40.680 You know, at the end of the day, Like, listen, 0:13:41.000 --> 0:13:44.240 doesn't MLB want Dodgers and Yankees to be in the 0:13:44.280 --> 0:13:46.520 World Series? Don't they make more money off of that? 0:13:46.600 --> 0:13:49.440 I mean, listen, you don't want Otani playing, you know, 0:13:49.520 --> 0:13:53.200 for Kansas City or Judge going to Minnesota, Like, doesn't 0:13:53.200 --> 0:13:54.600 that help them make more money? 0:13:57.240 --> 0:14:01.320 I think, you know, Rob is actually that when I 0:14:01.360 --> 0:14:02.880 know in the Dodgers and the Yankees were in the 0:14:02.920 --> 0:14:05.600 World Series, he made some statements to that effect. 0:14:06.600 --> 0:14:07.920 But again, you know. 0:14:07.880 --> 0:14:12.880 We we we believe that every team should have the 0:14:12.920 --> 0:14:15.760 ability to compete, and we believe they do. You know, 0:14:15.800 --> 0:14:18.520 one of the things that I noticed, I mean, the 0:14:18.880 --> 0:14:21.720 owners that are out there telling the fans, oh, you 0:14:21.840 --> 0:14:24.880 have no hope, which again I've said before, I think 0:14:24.880 --> 0:14:28.040 it's just extraordinary. I mean, they should be promoting the 0:14:28.080 --> 0:14:31.760 game instead of telling fans our product that we're selling 0:14:31.800 --> 0:14:32.760 to you is broken. 0:14:34.120 --> 0:14:37.840 That's just you know, that's just appalling. But you know, 0:14:37.960 --> 0:14:38.720 in fact, you. 0:14:38.680 --> 0:14:42.640 See the biggest attendance increases over this CBA are in 0:14:42.680 --> 0:14:44.800 the smaller market teams. Eight of the add of the 0:14:44.840 --> 0:14:49.320 ten biggest increases in attendance are among the lower revenue teams. 0:14:50.000 --> 0:14:52.880 So you know, those fans don't seem to think it's 0:14:52.920 --> 0:14:55.400 not worth showing up to the wallpark, notwithstanding the fact 0:14:55.400 --> 0:14:57.320 that the owners and the commission's office are trying to 0:14:57.320 --> 0:14:59.960 tell them, you know, don't you know you have no hope? 0:15:01.640 --> 0:15:04.960 You know, Athletic did a poll recently showing asking fans 0:15:05.640 --> 0:15:08.280 to the extent to which they're optimistic about their teams, 0:15:08.520 --> 0:15:14.160 widespread optimism, including big markets, small markets. The league seems 0:15:14.240 --> 0:15:18.120 like they would almost rather you know, fans stay away 0:15:18.160 --> 0:15:21.080 and be negative about their teams. It's a very very 0:15:21.120 --> 0:15:24.680 strange way to promote the game. So yeah, I mean, 0:15:24.800 --> 0:15:27.920 I mean, look, you could say economically it's better for 0:15:27.960 --> 0:15:30.640 this team to be in the World Series or better 0:15:30.680 --> 0:15:33.480 for that team, and then that may or may not 0:15:33.560 --> 0:15:38.480 be true. But we're we're we believe baseball already has 0:15:38.560 --> 0:15:41.560 better competitive balance than any of the salary cap sports, 0:15:41.920 --> 0:15:44.520 and again we've made proposals that we think will further 0:15:44.640 --> 0:15:45.280 enhance them. 0:15:46.320 --> 0:15:48.400 Hey, one thing that was just thrown out there was 0:15:48.480 --> 0:15:51.520 the prop bet discussion, and Bruce, just being real with you, 0:15:51.640 --> 0:15:54.160 I really like prop bets. I roll with that all 0:15:54.200 --> 0:15:56.760 the time. So I'm curious was that something that was 0:15:56.800 --> 0:16:00.200 expressed to you as a big concern from players. I 0:16:00.240 --> 0:16:02.640 know that players have had, you know, issues with threats 0:16:02.680 --> 0:16:04.880 and all of that, but but also if somebody loses 0:16:04.920 --> 0:16:06.720 a regular bet with a team, they're going to be 0:16:06.760 --> 0:16:09.480 pissed at that player too. So just curious because it 0:16:09.480 --> 0:16:12.480 definitely affects money and affects some fans, you know, interest 0:16:12.520 --> 0:16:12.960 in the game. 0:16:15.080 --> 0:16:17.040 We have other people who are who are focusing on 0:16:17.080 --> 0:16:20.880 this area. But in general, I would say yes, as 0:16:20.920 --> 0:16:23.520 you know, I mean, players are are more and more 0:16:24.240 --> 0:16:31.120 uh the target of you know, threats and harassment based 0:16:31.160 --> 0:16:34.600 on based on gambling. Uh, you know, it's not all 0:16:34.880 --> 0:16:37.520 based on prop bets. But but we think and the 0:16:37.560 --> 0:16:43.560 players generally feel that that increases the I would say, 0:16:43.600 --> 0:16:46.800 you know, the frustration level of fans. I mean, you're right, 0:16:46.840 --> 0:16:49.040 you know, if you if you lose a game, you're 0:16:49.080 --> 0:16:51.600 you're going to be upset. If you bet on a 0:16:51.640 --> 0:16:54.240 game and the team loses, they're gonna be upset. But 0:16:54.280 --> 0:16:57.800 if you bet on a strike and the pitcher throws 0:16:57.840 --> 0:17:00.720 a ball, I mean, that's going to be directed entirely 0:17:00.800 --> 0:17:03.480 at that player as opposed to the team. And so 0:17:04.800 --> 0:17:07.639 we think, you know, it's again in the interest of 0:17:07.640 --> 0:17:10.400 our players, and I do think the players generally feel 0:17:10.440 --> 0:17:14.960 this way that that was not an option. Yeah, I 0:17:15.000 --> 0:17:19.080 mean to the extent gambling increases interest in the sport generally, 0:17:19.160 --> 0:17:23.480 that's a good thing. But you know, everything is a balance, 0:17:23.840 --> 0:17:26.920 and that's one area where we think we can make 0:17:26.960 --> 0:17:30.240 the situation better for players who are increasingly the target 0:17:30.280 --> 0:17:31.960 of those kinds of threats and harassment. 0:17:32.880 --> 0:17:36.719 A s Geek is MLB's official ticket marketplace, and in 0:17:36.720 --> 0:17:40.800 addition to finding every single game on the MLB calendar, 0:17:40.880 --> 0:17:42.960 there are big events coming up soon. 0:17:43.400 --> 0:17:45.520 There's an All Star game, there's a home run Derby. 0:17:45.520 --> 0:17:47.400 And if you think you're perfect and you can pick 0:17:47.440 --> 0:17:49.239 the right seat at the home run derby to get 0:17:49.280 --> 0:17:51.600 the most home run balls you can get the little 0:17:51.600 --> 0:17:53.880 green dot and that might be your lucky seat. Don't 0:17:53.880 --> 0:17:55.960 go red dot, though, because you might not get any balls. 0:17:56.160 --> 0:17:59.040 But go red green dot and get as many home 0:17:59.080 --> 0:18:00.720 run balls as you think you can catch. 0:18:00.800 --> 0:18:02.600 Yep, you click the seat, you check out what your 0:18:02.680 --> 0:18:04.800 view is. Each ticket's rated on a scale of one 0:18:04.840 --> 0:18:06.639 to ten, so you know you're getting a good deal. 0:18:06.880 --> 0:18:09.800 And that's what AJ's talking about. Green good, red bad. 0:18:10.000 --> 0:18:13.000 With those dots and the code for you Territory one 0:18:13.119 --> 0:18:15.440 zero for ten percent off your next set of tickets 0:18:15.480 --> 0:18:18.920 at Sea Geek. That's ten percent off any MLB tickets 0:18:19.160 --> 0:18:22.520 with promo code Territory ten. Make sure you click the 0:18:22.520 --> 0:18:25.119 link in the description of this episode that'll help you 0:18:25.160 --> 0:18:28.399 download the app and then get the code automatically added 0:18:28.440 --> 0:18:30.359 to your account so that you can use it later. 0:18:30.720 --> 0:18:34.040 Thank you to see Geek Bruce. Two items over the 0:18:34.080 --> 0:18:37.000 last couple of weeks that peaked my interests that were 0:18:37.119 --> 0:18:39.719 revealed in some of this back and forth. One I 0:18:39.720 --> 0:18:43.880 think affects everyone, especially fans blackouts. To me, it read 0:18:43.920 --> 0:18:47.000 as if accept some of this stuff and then we'll 0:18:47.000 --> 0:18:49.000 get rid of blackouts, and of course I'm going to 0:18:49.080 --> 0:18:51.920 give the fan perspective here. Wait, so we can get 0:18:52.000 --> 0:18:54.399 rid of this, but we just don't want to unless 0:18:54.440 --> 0:18:56.840 someone gets their way. So that's one. And the second 0:18:56.840 --> 0:18:59.560 one that I felt with this is I have a 0:18:59.560 --> 0:19:01.600 lot of ends and have covered a lot of players 0:19:01.600 --> 0:19:04.800 that come from Latin American markets, and it sounded like 0:19:04.800 --> 0:19:07.280 there was actually a really interesting plan in place to 0:19:07.359 --> 0:19:10.920 work more with places like the Dominican Republic on limiting 0:19:10.960 --> 0:19:14.440 some of the chaos that goes down there with young 0:19:14.560 --> 0:19:17.320 kids and the trainers and all of that. And I'm like, again, wait, 0:19:17.840 --> 0:19:21.000 can't we already be working harder on that. So curious 0:19:21.000 --> 0:19:23.640 for your thoughts on both of those matters. That really 0:19:23.720 --> 0:19:26.240 hit home for me. I know we talk so much 0:19:26.240 --> 0:19:28.240 about the big stuff, but this is big too that 0:19:28.280 --> 0:19:30.200 I feel like sometimes get swept under the rug. 0:19:32.280 --> 0:19:36.680 So in terms of blackouts, look, we have an interest 0:19:36.720 --> 0:19:39.119 and we have hopefully a common interest with the league 0:19:40.119 --> 0:19:42.960 in giving all our fans the opportunity to watch every 0:19:43.000 --> 0:19:46.640 game they can. That's just, you know, fundamental in terms 0:19:46.680 --> 0:19:50.480 of servicing our fans and increasing the popularity sport. The 0:19:50.560 --> 0:19:52.679 fact of the matter is we the players and the 0:19:52.680 --> 0:19:55.760 players Association have no control over that. I know the 0:19:55.840 --> 0:19:58.840 league came out with a suggestion that, well, you know, 0:19:59.240 --> 0:20:01.960 somehow trying to the plane to the players, like, if 0:20:02.000 --> 0:20:03.679 we would only agree to a salary cap, they can 0:20:03.720 --> 0:20:06.040 get a bit of blackouse. We have no seat at 0:20:06.080 --> 0:20:10.600 the table in terms of the good TV negotiations. Blackouts 0:20:10.840 --> 0:20:16.240 ultimately emanate from territorial restrictions that the league. What's that 0:20:16.320 --> 0:20:19.000 the club's put on each other, So you know, we 0:20:19.080 --> 0:20:23.480 have no direct control over that. The notion that they 0:20:23.520 --> 0:20:27.600 can't fix it without a salary cap, frankly is absurd 0:20:28.800 --> 0:20:32.400 to the extent they're saying, well, we could fix it 0:20:32.920 --> 0:20:37.760 if we were able to share our media revenues. Even 0:20:37.840 --> 0:20:40.480 if that's true, and I'm not sure it is, our 0:20:40.560 --> 0:20:43.280 proposal would allow them, the proposal we made a few 0:20:43.320 --> 0:20:46.000 weeks ago would allow them to share I think it's 0:20:46.040 --> 0:20:49.800 around ninety percent or more of their media revenues, so 0:20:50.280 --> 0:20:52.479 they can do that without a salary cap. I think 0:20:52.520 --> 0:20:55.960 it's just a very sort of obvious pr strategy to 0:20:56.000 --> 0:20:58.600 come out and say somehow this is the player's fault 0:20:59.040 --> 0:21:01.479 and somehow this has some thing to do with you know, 0:21:01.680 --> 0:21:04.240 the existence or non existence of the salad camp. That's 0:21:04.680 --> 0:21:08.440 that's just that's just not true in terms of the 0:21:08.440 --> 0:21:12.040 international system, So, you know, a complicated issue. They just 0:21:12.119 --> 0:21:17.120 made a set of proposals which would were absolutely horrendous, 0:21:17.400 --> 0:21:19.760 I have to say, just to be blunt, like a 0:21:19.760 --> 0:21:23.800 lot of their proposals, I think they were roundly seen 0:21:23.880 --> 0:21:27.720 that way by the entire community, including apparently by people 0:21:27.760 --> 0:21:31.440 on their side. Sure, there are a lot of things 0:21:31.480 --> 0:21:35.080 going on in those countries, the dr that you know, 0:21:35.240 --> 0:21:36.040 we don't. 0:21:35.920 --> 0:21:36.560 Like to see. 0:21:36.760 --> 0:21:39.760 I will say that the cause of those problems at 0:21:39.800 --> 0:21:43.280 PACE is the clubs. I mean, the clubs have created 0:21:43.440 --> 0:21:46.040 those issues and now they're saying, oh, you know, here's 0:21:46.080 --> 0:21:49.840 the only way we can fix it. And what they've proposed, 0:21:49.960 --> 0:21:55.719