But it actually happened. Major League Baseball owners cried " foul." They went to members of Congress and wailed their story. It looked like this:
Baseball ( money ) won and got a lifetime exemption from the anti-trust laws of this nation. Today, behind closed doors, the Fat Cats are concerned that player salaries are getting out of control.
They are saying that profit margins"must be established and not compromised. The workers are already over-paid."
So, as Manny and Bryce's front men began to speak of $300 million guaranteed....the owners gathered and said..." not on my watch."
That is why the Yankees are not in this thing. That is why no offers have been formally tendered and accepted.
MLB owners will wait until the "cost" for these two superstars declines to a level they are willing to accept as the top pay standard of the sport.
It is price fixing, pure and simple.
The irony is that this collusion is protected by law. Or, rather, by the absence of law.
Money bought a free pass for baseball years ago, and money keeps the protection in place.
It is still about the money.
So we wait.
That's a really good explanation. Well done!
ReplyDeleteDoug K.
Actually, Doug,Alphonso's explanation is mostly incorrect. While lobbying and fat cat money influenced the Supreme Court's ruling in favor of baseball's exemption under the Sherman Act (Anti-trust),along with a short-sighted view of the Commerce Clause, anti-trust law has little to do with why the owners are protected. In fact, they aren't.
ReplyDeleteOne only need look to the late 80's in the Collusion 1,2,3 verdicts. This because much of baseball's labor rules are governed by Collective Bargaining under the egis of the NLRB. This been the case since 1966 when the MLBPA became certified. But nothing was really determined by an arbitrator (or in this instance a series of arbitrators)until baseball was found guilty of not bargaining in good faith/salary collusion in regards to contract length and compensation. And Faye Vincent excoriated the owners in a public memo mentioning that they brought on the 280 million dollar payment to the MLBPA as a settlement in the above 3 cases by trying to screw the players of money rightfully due to players.
So while Alphonso is right that owners are greedy, colluding in almost the same exact manner to create a ceiling on salaries and contract length, it has zero to do with any money influence on legislators or courts nor are anti-trust laws the overriding determinant in these matters.
By the way, there were several cases since the MLBPA became certified that did reach the courts but they were upheld in favor of MLB due to the Reserve Clause under baseball's anti-trust exemption such as Curt Flood's case or oakland A's suing to move to San Jose, but none of the cases involved Collective Bargaining.
ReplyDeleteParaphrasing Giorgio Tsoukalos..."I'm not saying that it's collusion, but it's collusion."
ReplyDeleteIts collusion :)
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteBut thanks Carl for the technical accuracy.
Aa long as baseball's lobbying and fat cat money only influenced the Supreme Court ruling, I stand corrected.
God forbid, they should try to ever influence legislators.
I cannot say this fervently or frequently enough:
ReplyDeleteFUCKERS!!!
ReplyDeleteI really want the world to know about this great man who brought back happiness into my life again after my husband left me and the kids 3 years ago for another women online when i contacted Dr Believe he cast a love spell for me within 48 hours my ex husband start calling me and begging for forgiveness for everything that have happened between us. I was so happy to have my family back together with love again here is the email of Dr Believe via believelovespelltemple@gmail.com a man with the great powers you can also call him or add him on Whats-app: +2348156148821
God bless you
I am very grateful for your help in my marriage.