Players' union head Tony Clark took the extraordinary step of saying baseball fans should question whether it makes sense to purchase tickets for some teams, responding to Commissioner Rob Manfred's assertion that free-agent players have failed to adjust their economic demands in a market upended by analytics.
Top free agents Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Craig Kimbrel and Dallas Keuchel remain unsigned with spring training underway, creating tension during negotiations on management's proposals for a pitch clock and new limitations on relief pitchers. The union responded with a wider list of plans that include economic initiatives such as expanding the designated hitter to the National League and altering the amateur draft to make rebuilding less appealing.
"Markets change," Manfred said Sunday. "We've had a lot of change in the game. People think about players differently. They analyze players differently. They negotiate differently."
FILE - In this Nov. 27, 2018 file photo Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred speaks during a news conference at MLB headquarters in New York. Pitch clocks are coming for spring training games. Looking to speed the pace of play in baseball, Manfred said, Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019, pitchers will have 20 seconds to deliver to the plate when teams play exhibition games in Arizona and Florida beginning this week. (AP PhotoSeth Wenig, file)
Clark led negotiations in 2016 for a five-year labor deal. Players have increasingly been outspoken about their unhappiness during a second straight slow free-agent market, one that has seen many veterans take significant pay cuts and others remain without deals.
"Players' eyes don't deceive them, nor do fans'," Clark said in a statement Monday. "As players report to spring training and see respected veterans and valued teammates on the sidelines, they are rightfully frustrated by a two-year attack on free agency. Players commit to compete every pitch of every at-bat, and every inning of every game. Yet we're operating in an environment in which an increasing number of clubs appear to be making little effort to improve their rosters, compete for a championship or justify the price of a ticket."
Average attendance last year dropped below 30,000 per game for the first time since 2003.
Players rebuffed management's proposal for a pitch clock ahead of the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Management made the unilateral decision to experiment with a pitch clock during spring training. Manfred has said he is reticent to change regular-season playing rules unless players agree.
"Players have made a sincere attempt to engage with clubs on their proposals to improve pace of play and enhance the game's appeal to fans," Clark said. "At the same time, we have presented wide-ranging ideas that value substance over seconds and ensure the best players are on the field every day. We believe these substantive changes are imperative now — not in 2022 or 2025, but in 2019."
The union is concerned that too many teams are rebuilding, trying to emulate the Houston Astros. Houston lost 106 to 111 games in three straight years from 2011-13, earned three straight No. 1 draft picks and won its first World Series title in 2017.
"This narrative that our teams aren't trying is just not supported by the facts," Manfred said. "Our teams are trying. Every single one of them wants to win. It may look a little different to outsiders because the game has changed, the way that people think about the game, the way that people think about putting a winning team together has changed, but that doesn't mean they're not trying."
AP Baseball Writer Mike Fitzpatrick contributed to this report.
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