Good morning!
Call it a lockout, strike, impasse, whatever, but brace yourselves for a 2027 season without the summer game. Barring divine intervention, MLB owners will suspend operations when the current basic agreement expires on Dec. 1. They want a salary cap, and the players would rather push their mothers off a cliff than give it to them.
This time owners will hold out for as long as it takes, and for once the fans will be on their side.
“Maybe not an entire season, but something has to be done,” said Florence native Tim Noonan, who in the realm of fandom is a one-percenter.
Noonan’s attended over 1,000 Red Sox games at Fenway Park since 1961, and he’s kept every ticket stub. (Nowadays you can’t save ticket stubs, only old iPhones.)
”Imagine being a fan in Pittsburgh or Kansas City, Miami, Cleveland, Tampa Bay … They’ll never have a World Series parade in their city. Two of the best starting pitchers in baseball are Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes and Detroit’s Tarik Skubal and there’s no chance they’ll stay there long term.”
The last owners’ lockout started Dec. 1, 2021, but negotiations didn’t begin until the eve of spring training because waiting till the last moment is the American way.
Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida, was ground zero, and the media set up shop across the street from where the two sides were negotiating inside the St. Louis Cardinals clubhouse.
The office was vacant save for some stacks of water and a few untended laptops. Everyone preferred to wait outside so they could see the proverbial puff of white smoke. Longmeadow native Chelsea Janes sat in a foldout chair under a palm tree, hoping for something worthwhile to tell her editor at the Washington Post.
“So this is it?” I asked. “You’re going to sit here every day until something happens?”
“Yeah,” she said. “Real heavy lifting.”
The lockout ended on March 10 with a new five-year pact that included an expanded postseason, the DH rule in the National League, and upping the minimum salary from $570,500 to $700,000. That basic agreement was Manassas compared to the next one which will be Gettysburg.
It’s clear the owners need a salary cap. They can’t keep caving in and signing players like Shohei Ohtani for 10 years and $700 million and Juan Soto for 15 years and $765 million.
Last week, Kyle Tucker signed with the Dodgers for four years and $240 million. “If I was Aaron Judge I’d be going to the Yankees asking where’s my $85 million,” said WFAN’s Joe Benigno, referring to Judge’s nine-year, $40 million per year deal he signed before Ohtani and Soto hit the lottery.
This time owners know the fans have a stake in this. Noonan’s first Opening Day was in 1968 when he saw Carl Yastrzemski hit two home runs in a 7-3 win over the Tigers. “Right field grandstand — now called a lower box— it cost $2.50.”
Two Green Monster tickets on the secondary market to see the Tigers play Boston on April 18 start at $948.
Even watching on TV will cost you. The number of streaming services that have broadcast rights to the Yankees — Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, YES, etc. — make the cost to watch every game the equivalent of first class airfare to Paris. Elitesportsny added them all up and it came to $603.75— and that was four years ago.
The sports world abhors a vacuum. The United Football League might consider moving up its 2027 schedule. Soccer would benefit if FIFA waited a year for the U.S. to host the World Cup. Locally, a season-long lockout would encourage fans to watch Post 81 baseball games at Vets Field and New England Collegiate Baseball League games in Holyoke, Keene and North Adams.
Am I projecting a bit much here? Maybe. There’s plenty of time for the players and their devilish agents to come to their senses, but greed knows no bounds and the first player to say he’s doing it to feed his family will get a pie in the face.
****
UMass hockey coach Greg Carvel on recruiting in the NIL era: “If a kid wants to get to the NHL and earn really big money, then he should want to be at a school like UMass. But if it’s all about money, then that’s a kid who’s going to ruin your culture. Skill doesn’t win championships, cultures do.”
****
SQUIBBERS: Deerfield goalie Elliot Lennon made 52 saves to backstop the Big Green to a 1-1 tie at Cushing last week. The 17-year-old native of Kirkland, Quebec, will play at Brown in the fall. … UMass hoops coach Frank Martin wasn’t happy his team gave up 82 points during Tuesday’s win against Toledo but told broadcaster Jay Burnham: “You don’t become miserable after a win.” … Pats radio voice Bob Sochi had to tame his sidekick Scott Zolak after a non-flag against the Texans on Sunday when Zo said, “If you don’t think something criminal’s going on!” … Greg Bedard on possible Buffalo coaching successors: “I’d try for someone who can hit the ground running like Mike Tomlin [and] I would check in on Bill Belichick because you’re looking at a short window not a rebuild, because Josh Allen doesn’t have time for that.” … Prior to Monday’s college championship game, Miami quarterback Carson Beck was asked, “Did you go to class yesterday?” and Beck answered: “I graduated two years ago.” … St. John’s coach Rick Pitino goes for his 900th career win this afternoon at Xavier. The Musketeers, who lost by a point to Creighton on Wednesday, are coached by Pitino’s son Richard. … The Orioles have put Pete Alonso’s image on billboards throughout the city proclaiming “Polar Bear… Warning Icy Conditions Ahead.” … Thanks to Mike Noonan for spotting an error in last week’s column. I was referring to Barry Bonds, not his father Bobby. … Let’s wait till we see Pop Watson on the gridiron before going gaga over the former Springfield Central star. According to Hokie Analytics, Watson was making about $75,000 as the third string QB at Virginia Tech where in three seasons he had one TD pass, threw two interceptions and was sacked 16 times. … Asked what he was planning to do after Monday’s thrilling win against Miami to win the national championship, Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti smiled and said: “I’m gonna have a beer.”