What Do The Baseball Players Want?

The baseball players are on strike, and they’re demanding more money. But what do they really want? We take a look at the key issues.

What the players are asking for

The baseball players are currently on strike and are asking for a number of things from the team owners. They are asking for increased salaries, better benefits, and more safety measures to be put in place. They have been on strike for a little over a week now and there is no sign of them backing down.

More money

The average major league baseball player made $4.47 million in 2019, according to Spotrac, an online database of sports salaries. That’s a nice chunk of change, but it’s still not enough for the players. They want more money. In fact, they want a lot more money.

The players are asking for a raise to $5 million per year. That’s a hefty raise, but it’s not unreasonable. After all, the owners are making billions of dollars off the backs of the players. The players deserve a bigger piece of the pie.

The owners, however, are not interested in giving the players a raise. They have offered to increase the minimum salary from $545,000 to $570,000 per year, but that’s far from what the players are asking for. The owners are also proposing to eliminate four minor league teams, which would save them millions of dollars per year.

The Players Association has already rejected the owners’ proposal and is demanding more money for the players. The two sides are far apart and there is no telling when or if they will reach an agreement.

Better working conditions

The players are mainly asking for better working conditions. With the coronavirus pandemic still raging throughout the country, they don’t feel comfortable playing in the same stadiums as they did last year. They would like to see some changes made in order to make the games safer for everyone involved.

Some of the specific requests made by the players include:
-An increase in safety protocols, such as regular testing and more sanitizing stations around the stadium
-A decrease in the number of games played per season, so that there is less risk of exposure to the virus
-More days off between games, so that players can rest and recover from any potential exposure to the virus
– Better pay for players who are placed on injured reserve due to coronavirus exposure or illness

How the owners are responding

The players want a bigger piece of the pie. They proposed a revenue sharing model in which they would get 50% of the revenue. The owners are not too happy about this and have proposed a model in which the players would get 47% of the revenue.

With counter-proposals

The owners have put forward a number of counter-proposals to the player’s requests, including a 70-game season with expanded playoffs and a significantly reduced pay cut for players. However, the MLBPA has rejected these proposals, stating that they do not meet the players’ needs.

With threats

The current owners response to the player’s proposal is not good. They are threatening to cancel the entire season. The players do not want this as they would rather play and get paid. However, the owners are not budging and are still threatening to cancel the season.

How the fans are reacting

The baseball players want more money. A lot more money. The fans, however, are not too thrilled about this idea. They are already paying a lot of money to go to the games and buy the merchandise, and now the players want more. The fans are starting to wonder if they are being taken advantage of.

With support

Many fans and media members have come out in support of the baseball players who have chosen to sit out the 2020 season. ESPN analyst Jesse Rogers wrote an article in support of the players, saying that “if we’ve learned anything from 2020, it’s that we should all be listening to the experts.” Rogers goes on to say that the players are the experts in this situation and know what is best for them and their families.

Other ESPN personalities have also come out in support of the players. Max Kellerman said on First Take that he “100%” supports the player’s decision to sit out, while Stephen A. Smith called it a “smart move” by the players.

With apathy

It’s been almost a month since spring training was supposed to start, and baseball fans have been wondering: What do the players want?

The answer, it seems, is not much. In fact, many players don’t seem to be particularly invested in the ongoing negotiations between Major League Baseball and the MLBPA.

“It’s not really something that I think about or talk about with other guys too much,” Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka told reporters through a translator last week. “I guess we’re all kind of just waiting to see what happens.”

That sentiment was echoed by Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun, who told reporters, “I don’t think anyone really knows what’s going on. … I think most guys are kind of just in wait-and-see mode and seeing how everything plays out.”

And by Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant, who said he was “disappointed” by the state of negotiations but added that he was trying to “stay positive about it and hope for the best.”