I sat through another uneventful MLB All-Star Game last night and asked myself the question of do we really need all-star games in any sports?
It really does not matter what the sport is. The players do not play hard and do not seem to care about winning.
Saying that, let me stick with the subject of baseball.
Could this be the last MLB All-Star Game for the foreseeable future?
The league is approaching the end of its collective bargaining agreement upon the end of this current season. Most feel a strike is upcoming.
MLB and the MLB Players Association are in the early stages of what has already been a contentious labor negotiation. It is expected that the owners will lock out the players when the current collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1.
Management is proposing a wide range of massive changes to the sport and how it operates, including a hard salary cap and floor and heavy restrictions on free-agent contracts.
Management states that the perception among fans is really strong that there is a lack of competitiveness within the franchises. The same teams win year after year and the same teams lose year after year.
Not surprisingly, players oppose management’s ideas and actually are attempting to increase their access to free agency and salary arbitration. They are threatening to strike. It should be noted that the baseball players union is considered the strongest union in all of sports.
The game continues to grow in stature and popularity, but team owners are also seeking an overhaul of the economic model to promote better competitive balance.
Those labor issues are expected to be front and center when the World Series is over this fall.
