MLB commissioner Rob Manfred on Monday said that he is no longer confident that the COVID-19 pandemic-hit season would be played as a financial wrangle with players remains deadlocked.
Manfred, who last week said that he was “100 percent” confident of baseball being played this year, told ESPN that he fears the season could now be scrapped.
“I’m not confident,” Manfred said. “I think there’s real risk — and as long as there’s no dialogue, that real risk is gonna continue.”
The players’ union broke off talks with the league over the weekend, saying that further discussions would be “futile.”
MLB Players Association executive director Tony Clark fired back at Manfred later on Monday, describing the players as being “disgusted.”
“Players are disgusted that after Rob Manfred unequivocally told players and fans that there would ‘100 percent’ be a 2020 season, he has decided to go back on his word and is now threatening to cancel the entire season,” Clark said.
“This latest threat is just one more indication that Major League Baseball has been negotiating in bad faith since the beginning. This has always been about extracting additional pay cuts from players, and this is just another day and another bad faith tactic in their ongoing campaign,” he said.
Manfred said that the dispute was damaging the reputation of baseball.
“It’s just a disaster for our game, absolutely no question about it,” Manfred told ESPN. “It shouldn’t be happening, and it’s important that we find a way to get past it and get the game back on the field for the benefit of our fans.”
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