This past Monday, ESPN hosted a segment featuring commissioners Roger Goodell (NFL), Adam Silver (NBA), Rob Manfred (MLB), Gary Bettman (NHL), Cathy Engelbert (WNBA) and Don Garber (MLS). Every commissioner except for Rob Manfred has a plan in place to resume play.
Rob Manfred described the current state of Major League Baseball as a “disaster.” Not only that, but to make matters even worse, eight days ago, Manfred said “I’ll tell you unequivocally: We will play Major League Baseball this year.” Five days after making that statement, he said, “I can’t tell you that I’m 100% certain that’s gonna happen,” when discussing if there would be a season or not. You cannot make this up.
Rob Manfred is correct. This is an absolute disaster and a terrible look for the sport. MLB had the opportunity to kick off their season before any of the other sports did. They had an opportunity to grow the game and have all eyes on the sport that struggles to market any of their own players. Yet, all eyes are on the sport for all the wrong reasons. Players are fed up and fans are absolutely fed up as well.
The MLB and Major League Player’s Association (MLBPA) are struggling to come to an agreement, and everyone is left wondering if there will even be a season at all.
There are talks of a season with possibly 60-70 games. At this point, I will take anything we can get. We will just have to wait and see if there will be any baseball played at all this summer.