The Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Major League Baseball Players’ Association (MLBPA) resumed their efforts to reach a new collective bargaining agreement on Sunday. The meeting took place in New York.
On the final day of negotiations in Jupiter, Florida, the MLB is expected to offer a plan against the MLBPA League five days after the offer. Leading negotiators from each side met Thursday for the last 90 minutes of informal talks, which covered a variety of topics.
According to an Associated Press report, the highest-scoring team will start the top five in the series with a “Phantom victory” on the condition that the MLBPA be opened to post-season design in the 14s. Major League Baseball has already rejected such an idea, and that possibility seems very unlikely.
“The 14-team design division originally proposed by MLB offers significant benefits to winners and provides incentives to succeed at every level of the bracket,” said MLB Spokeswoman Glenn Cablin. “In an attempt to reach a compromise, following a discussion of the forms in which the ‘ghost game’ could be incorporated, the MLB agreed to the 12-team design. . “
According to the MLBPA idea, a team that is ranked first will be home to every game in the series and will only need two wins from four games to progress. The low-ranked team must win three of four games to advance to the postseason. MLB has stated that it does not think the “ghost hit” concept is well-received by its broadcast partners or league fans.
Under MLB’s proposal for a 14-team post-season, the division’s winner with the best record in the regular season will be eliminated from the division. The other two division winners will have the advantage of selecting their opponents and conducting all three possible matches in the top three rounds.
After the two division winners have chosen their opponent – the team with the best record between them will get the first choice – then the wild card team with the best record will play the rest of the team and the highest seed will be the host in all three games. All rival selections will take place on a TV show.
Mets pitcher Max Scherzer, a member of the union’s executive subcommittee, addressed the league’s proposed plan earlier this week.
“We felt the match could be ruined in that situation, and we had specific examples of different players speaking, which is particularly striking,” Scherzer said Tuesday. “Following those division winners, we did not find the right motivation for the other two division winners.”
Players may agree on an expanded 12-team post-season format earlier this week, with MLB included in its plan, although the 14-team plan may reappear in upcoming negotiations.
Sunday’s meeting will be held in New York City.
