In 2016, Major League Baseball (MLB) and the MLB Players Association (MLBPA) created a new labor agreement. Such an undertaking was a critical event within the scope of the sport, especially given the recorded revenues that were obtained during the period of the previous Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). This paper aims to research the crucial aspects of this legal document as it – in essence – dictates the rules of the business side of baseball.
The mentioned above Collective Bargaining Agreement is valid for five years, starting from 2017 and ending in 2021; its termination date is December 1, 2021. It should be noted that by the time the CBA is terminated in 2021, Major League Baseball will have had twenty-seven years of continuous labor calmness, which means an absolute absence of lockouts or strikes starting from 1994. The regular season, according to the CBA, was expanded in order to give a player four extra day-offs. Players continued to be provided with a full-year service accumulating 172 service days. The mentioned four days did not extend the season, as well as did not affect a player’s coming for Spring Training. The season itself started taking place earlier, during the final Spring games that are dedicated to training.
The MLB minimum salary increased from $507,500 in 2016 to $555,555 in 2019 (Brown, 2016). Moreover, from 2020 to 2021, it may be negotiated and even increase to a greater extent. Regarding the minimum salary for the Minor League, it should be claimed that the amount of money that was provided to players covered under the Major League Baseball Players Association was increased as well.
Then, the overall approach to the issue of revenue-sharing, which is a percent of the general industry’s revenues, remained the same. Nevertheless, the method, according to which specific Clubs’ revenue-sharing treatment had been defined, was updated. In particular, top-contributors – Yankees, for example – did not have to face the multiplier that was present in the related agreement that was valid during the previous period. Furthermore, the total quantity of the market disqualified teams will be decreased from fifteen to thirteen, and Oakland started to phase out its activities that will be completely stopped by 2022, according to the Collective Bargaining Agreement. It was claimed that Oakland A’s revenue share receipts were dropped to 25% in 2019 before the final stages of elimination.
By the provisions of the agreement, within the scope of travel, there is a number of supplementary limitations during the beginning of games on day-offs. This provides the teams with the opportunity to get to their next city earlier. It should also be noted that the CBA contains an international plays plan that serves as a foundation for the staging of games till the year 2022 so that the sport could be popularized and developed.
Players are now provided with supplementary compensation for their participation in Club and League-organized occasions. This compensation varies from $15,000 to $100,000, which is dependent on the place, as well as a player’s schedule. It was also agreed to give the Commissioner the possibility to arrange regular-season plays at not only the places like the stadiums of Major or Minor League in the US and Canada. In this regard, it was decided that a player would get supplementary compensation for the mentioned participation as well.
Among critical changes, there is one by which the home-field advantage during the World Series is now given to the team that has higher winning statistics in the Championship Season. Before the new CBA, this advantage was founded on the results of the All-Star Game. Then, all the members on the Active Roster of the team that wins a game get an equal part of the bonuses. The rosters for the All-Star Games are to be thirty-two players, among whom should be twenty position players and twelve pitchers. After fans elect the players, the Commissioner chooses seven players who will take part in the All-Star Series. It should be emphasized that it is a notable change, given the fact that the previous CBA gave such authority to the managers of the Major leagues. The pattern of the Home Run Derby is not affected by the new CBA, with the only note that players now get increased related bonuses. What is more, the minimum period on the disabled list was decreased from fifteen to ten days.
There are also significant changes within the luxury taxing policy. In particular, thresholds were increased from $189 million in 2016 to $210 million in 2021. The related penalties are as follows; the tax rate is twenty percent for a first-time offender who breaks the Luxury Taxation thresholds, thirty – for the second time, and fifty for the third time. The mentioned changes were brought into life to the full extent in 2018 and were phased in for 2017, which contributed to coherency and consistency in this regard. There are also some additional surcharges for the Luxury Tax violators, which is an important instrument to control the ones who go far beyond the allowed rates – for instance, the Dodgers or Yankees.
Starting from the year 2018, teams that have payrolls of $40 million or more above the mentioned thresholds should “have their highest selection in the next Rule 4 Draft moved back 10 places, except that the top six selections will be protected and those Clubs will have their 2nd highest selection moved back 10 places” (Brown, 2016, para. 25). Such an approach seems rational as the richest clubs are forced now to be more reasonable in the framework of financial fair play.
There were several discussions in the allowance of the 26th man. However, the new CBA does not imply any changes to a call-up. It might be rational to claim that within the scope of Draft Pick Compensation, there are a plethora of various changes that are complex and consistent. Given this, they expediently cover everything – starting from the Qualifying Offer policy and ending with Luxury taxation. A Club cannot give a Qualifying Offer to players who have already got one. According to the new CBA, a player is now able to consider whether to accept such an offer or not within ten days, which is a three-day extension if compare with the provisions of the previous Collective Bargaining Agreement.
A Club that signs a Free Agent that is to be provided with compensation are no longer loses the first-round selection but should adhere to the following. First, “A non-market disqualified Revenue Sharing Payee Club shall forfeit its third-highest remaining selection in the next Rule 4 Draft” (Brown, 2016, para. 31). Offenders of the Luxury Tax lose their second-highest and fifth-highest present selections within the following Rule 4 Draft. What is also crucial here is the fact that these offenders get their International Signing Bonus Pool decreased by $1 million. Another essential point is that the new agreement does not provide an International Draft but implies restricted spending. It should be emphasized that in this regard, the limitations are hard and more restrictive if compare with the previous CBAs.
A foreign player is now determined as one whose age is 25 years or more and who has played at a professional level in foreign leagues that were recognized by the Commissioner during at least six seasons. There was a notable issue caused by the described definition. Shohei Otani, who was at age 23 by 2016, is a significant professional who demonstrated fabulous play. He had to wait for two years to be considered as a foreign player and take part in MLB. Many specialists claimed that a foreign player should be affected by similar conditions and provisions as the domestic one. MLB has no players who have freedom of choice – in the defined sense – at the age lower than 25.
Here, it seems appropriate to describe some important changes to the Amateur Draft. First, the signing bonus value that is related to the first-round selections was amended so that the spread between slots could be diminished. Then, Competitive Balance Selections was continued “to be awarded to Clubs in bottom-10 markets or bottom-10 in local revenue based on a combination of winning percentage and local revenue” (Brown, 2016, para. 53).
The lottery approach is no longer followed so that an eligible Club could get selections after the first or second rounds in different years. The CBA implies procedures for a Club to get MRI from a player on a voluntary basis before drafts. There are also several advancements to the College Scholarship Plans, for instance, for those who live outside the United States.
Moreover, players obtain more perks – a Club now has more responsibilities for ensuring food and amenities to a player. The CBA implies the agreement on a number of notable practices for a Club in the framework of the maintenance of a clubhouse – starting from the provisions on meals and ending with the ones on help to a player’s family. Clubs were forced to create an Advisory Council that would operate constantly and make players’ diets better. Dieticians now give recommendations regarding the issues associated with nutrition.
A Club should hire sport psychologists – an essential factor that affects a player’s performance is the extent to which one feels mental pressure during the season. In order to address this, it was decided that the provision of a competent professional should be implemented so that all players could be mentally healthy. It might be assumed that such a policy indicates that the sport’s governance cares about its “core employees” to a great degree.
Another critical point is that smokeless tobacco became prohibited. A new player that enters the tournament is banned from using the mentioned drug. It should be noticed that the transition to the non-use of the drug itself was smooth, and the players were provided with the necessary assistance in this regard. The league also insisted on the provision that smokeless tobacco was prohibited during the game at stadiums – at least at the ones that are subject to local laws that forbid it.
The new CBA exhaustively regulates the issue of domestic violence. The policy was significantly improved in comparison with the previous agreement. According to the MLBPA (2016), “Domestic violence includes, but is not limited to, physical or sexual violence, emotional and/or psychological intimidation, verbal violence, stalking, economic control, harassment, physical intimidation, or injury” (p. 308). It seems apparent that the new CBA covers the expedient range of cases of domestic violence, as well as provides effective measures to address them. In particular, there is the Confidential Assistance Program in which “The Parties shall contract with a mutually-agreed-upon domestic violence services provider to offer support services to Players, Players’ families, and victims on a confidential basis” (The MLBPA, 2016, p. 324). Professionals who are capable of assisting with the problem are available 24/7 via the helpline. Some provisions cover the situations of sexual assault and child abuse.
Bullying and hazing are regulated to a necessary extent as well. Just before signing the labor agreement, there was an unpleasant case of hazing that made the issue even more acute. It was decided that the Commissioner had to provide an Anti-Hazing and Anti-Bullying Policy as an element of the new CBA. It was claimed that there is no place for such actions in sportsmanship.
The Collective Bargaining Agreement seems to take into account the fact that about a third of the league is saturated with international players. It is obvious that the question of language and communication is vital here. It was agreed to oblige Clubs to hire a bilingual professional who “shall be available on an as-needed basis to assist Players with questions regarding the logistics of their employment as a Major League Baseball Player” (The MLBPA, 2016, p. 71). Moreover, the CBA gives Spanish players a variety of possibilities to learn English.
It seems important to note that there were several discussions on new regulations regarding the pace of play. Nevertheless, the provisions of the new CBA do not address this issue. Still, it does not mean that there will be no changes in the framework of some related aspects; for instance, the possibility of a pitch clock. The new labor deal did not exclude the undertaking of measures in the midterm. For example, in the previous CBA, the decision to implement replays was a result of midterm negotiations. Finally, the new Collective Bargaining Agreement increased the procedures of drug testing, as well as claims that anti-drug policy is a foundation for appropriate big-sport activities. Overall, it might be suggested that the CBA created by the MLB and MLBPA contains a great range of increased perks for a player and pays more attention to the issues of an “out-of-stadium” character. For instance, the CBA of the NBA provides less developed sections on domestic violence (The NBPA, 2017).
To conclude, the actual Collective Bargaining Agreement provided by MLBPA and MLB was discussed. It covers a wide range of issues and tends to address them to a necessary degree. It was found that in comparison with the previous CBA, the new one contains more perks and opportunities for players. It was claimed that the thorough manner of covering the question of domestic violence might be a distinguishing feature of the new CBA.
References
The MLBPA. (2016). 2017 – 2021 basic agreement. Web.
The NBPA. (2017). Collective Bargaining Agreement. Web.
Brown, M. (2016). Breaking down MLB’s new 2017-21 Collective Bargaining Agreement. Forbes. Web.