Philadelphia Phillies stars are taking a stand in the tense MLB lockout negotiations
The MLB lockout has reached new heights of tension, and Philadelphia Phillies players and other stars around the league aren’t staying quiet.
This is the ninth work stoppage in league history, but the first since 1994-95, and the world has changed a lot. Namely, social media exists, and MLB players are flocking to it to tell their side of things, which is terrible news for the owners’ side, and great for them and the rest of us.
On Thursday, MLB officially requested the assistance of a federal mediator, under the guise of wanting to expedite Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations.
However, the Players’ Union rejected the ‘intervention of a federal mediator,’ since MLB has not made good on their promise earlier this week to provide a counter offer. In short, MLB is not negotiating in good faith, and players are extremely displeased.
Didi Gregorius was one of several players to weigh in on the drama on Friday:
🤷🏾♂️ pic.twitter.com/4eKyxEHSrk
— Sir Didi Gregorius (@DidiG18) February 4, 2022
While Gregorius’ tweet was vague enough that he could’ve been reacting to something else, the timing of his tweet is notable in the context of the mediation news, especially given that he hadn’t tweeted anything else in over a month.
Rhys Hoskins wasn’t as subtle, retweeting and liking tweets from several current and former players:
We want a system where threshold and penalties don’t function as caps, allows younger players to realize more of their market value, makes service time manipulation a thing of the past, and eliminate tanking as a winning strategy.
— Max Scherzer (@Max_Scherzer) February 4, 2022
GASLIGHT ME ONE TIME! It’s even harder to understand how a group like MLB KNOWINGLY declined to bring an offer to the table that THEY THEMSELVES said they would produce & then in turn QUESTION the desire of of the opposing party to negotiate? How do you even say that out loud? pic.twitter.com/C03jhajF1M
— Dallas Braden (@DALLASBRADEN209) February 4, 2022
If the goal is to get players on the field asap- then why did it take 43 days after the lockout to even hear from MLB? Didn’t seem like a priority then! Why did we not get a counter proposal this week? It’s all extremely tired antics/optics.
— Jameson Taillon (@JTaillon50) February 4, 2022
Actions speak louder than words Alec. This statement was followed by 6 weeks of quiet. I could give you example after example but that one pretty much sums up what these last 2 years have been like. https://t.co/VOgivqjvWU
— Whit Merrifield (@WhitMerrifield) February 4, 2022
Several of their teammates shared the MLBPA’s announcement to their Instagram stories or retweeted it, including Matt Vierling and current free agent, Archie Bradley.
Statement from the Major League Baseball Players Association: pic.twitter.com/KBssy2e66U
— MLBPA Communications (@MLBPA_News) February 4, 2022
Here are some more reactions from around the league:
https://t.co/RS7jB8Endh pic.twitter.com/FK797kafSZ
— Trevor Hildenberger (@t_hildy) February 4, 2022
How can MLB request for there to be a mediator from the Federal Government to help with negotiations when they literally haven’t even done any negotiating up to this point? Asking for a friend.
— Alex Wood (@Awood45) February 4, 2022
https://t.co/fuFUMI1S6Y pic.twitter.com/AJNaMothkw
— Jose Trevino (@HipHipJose5) February 4, 2022
It would probably take 2 weeks just for an “impartial” mediator to get caught up enough to proceed. They’d then use an already broken system/CBA as guideline toward a new deal. Makes zero sense for anybody. Players are ready to make a fair/mutually beneficial deal! #AtTheTable
— Alex Wood (@Awood45) February 4, 2022
https://twitter.com/ItsPaulSewald/status/1489474791320932353?s=20&t=jnRTgZY1-o4jw-MCSlOcLQ
Rob implemented a lockout to ‘jumpstart the negotiations’. But now MLB refuses to make a counterproposal. Not sure that’s the definition of ‘jumpstarting’
— Hunter Dozier (@hdozier_17) February 4, 2022
A significant part of Collective Bargaining is…actually bargaining #AtTheTable
— Mitch Haniger (@M_Hanny17) February 4, 2022
A significant part of Collective Bargaining is…actually bargaining #AtTheTable
— James Paxton (@James_Paxton) February 4, 2022
Seems to me like in order to get a Collective Bargaining Agreement done, you need to bargain… players remain waiting #AtTheTable https://t.co/igguDhDq07
— Whit Merrifield (@WhitMerrifield) February 4, 2022
Ultimately, the owners do not have a leg to stand on. They chose to lock out the players when the CBA expired, and they alone can end the lockout. Any false overtures or PR statements to suggest otherwise are bogus distractions, and it’s great to see players calling them out.