{"id":240463,"date":"2025-10-26T02:36:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-26T02:36:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/240463\/"},"modified":"2025-10-26T02:36:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-26T02:36:07","slug":"manfred-thinks-labor-discussions-with-mlbpa-will-be-had-in-offseason","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/240463\/","title":{"rendered":"Manfred thinks labor discussions with MLBPA will be had in offseason"},"content":{"rendered":"

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a radio interview prior to the start of the World Series that he expects to have labor discussions with the union this offseason. The current collective bargaining agreement expires on Dec. 1, 2026. <\/p>\n

Manfred says he\u2019s optimistic that a deal can be struck, which would allow him to maintain his record of baseball never missing games due to labor disputes during his decade-long tenure. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think we will begin to have conversations with (MLB Players\u2019 Association Executive Director) Tony (Clark) early, like early as this offseason,\u201d Manfred said on SiriusXM with Christopher \u201cMad Dog\u201d Russo before Game 1 Friday. \u201c\u2026 I\u2019m an optimist when it comes to these things. I think if you come to the table in good faith and you communicate, usually you find a way to make a deal. I understand we have some difficult issues that we need to work our way though, but among my goals would be to keep the record alive of not losing any games.\u201d <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Clark: Impact of possible Dodgers repeat on labor negotiation just \u2018chatter\u2019Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Manfred has said the owners have not decided whether they want to try and implement a salary cap, though Rockies owner Dick Monfort and Orioles owner David Rubenstein have been most vocal publicly in support of the idea. Yet despite small-market executives saying that the sport has reached a crisis point in terms of the growing payroll disparity between the haves and have nots, the MLBPA remains adamant that a cap is a non-starter, and a cap battle could lead to a prolonged work stoppage. <\/p>\n

Asked about a salary cap, Manfred responded: \u201c\u2026 Look, the way I think about the goals is that we need to make sure that we have a game out there in all 30 markets where our fans believe that they have a realistic and fair opportunity to compete. I think there\u2019s a variety of ways that you can get there. I know we\u2019re going to the table with an open mind, not saying, \u2018Oh, we\u2019re never doing this\u2019 or \u2018We\u2019re never doing that\u2019 or \u2018We have to do this\u2019 or \u2018We have to do that.\u2019 We\u2019re going with an open mind. And I hope I get the same open mind on the other side.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Dodgers project to be first team to surpass $200M in annual sponsorship revenue: SponsorUnitedOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Baseball has been touting increases in attendance the past three seasons, with double-digit viewership % increases across its national television partners. Manfred wants to create a national television package for bidders when all the rights are up after the 2028 season, with the hope of following a model like the NBA (11 years, $77B). <\/p>\n

Manfred, who is set to retire in 2029 when his term is up, said his unblemished labor record in terms of no games missed, is a factor in the upcoming negotiations. <\/p>\n

Asked if his labor record is a factor in the negotiations and maintaining his legacy in that regard, Manfred responded: \u201cThis is actually the truth. I know people are gonna say he not telling the truth. But I\u2019m not a big (focuser) on legacy. I mean, you want people to think you did a good job, and I get that. But my dad told me when I went to work, go and do the best you can every single day and the legacy or the next job will take care of itself. And I try to stay focused on that. <\/p>\n

\u201cI am intent on being creative and trying to explain to the Players Association and the players how we see the business. And the fact of the matter is there is such a thing as a win-win deal, but people have to come with an open mind. Where you get in trouble is when you get people saying it\u2019s been this way and it has to be this way no matter what. The world has changed a lot. We\u2019ve had an economic system that\u2019s been in place since the 1960s. What\u2019s still good today that was invented in the 1960s? Not much.\u201d<\/p>\n

Manfred would not comment on labor during his on-field interview with reporters prior to Game 2. But like Clark, he does not put significant relevance on who wins this World Series, which could result in the Dodgers going back-to-back. No small-market team has won the Fall Classic since the 2015 Royals. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think who wins this World Series is any more relevant than who won the last five or six,\u201d Manfred said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a radio interview prior to the start of the World Series that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":240464,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[435],"tags":[3307,49,48,511,462,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-240463","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-dodgers","12":"tag-mlb","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240463","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=240463"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240463\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/240464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=240463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=240463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}