The current collective bargaining agreement between Major League Baseball and the Players' Association expires in roughly three and a half months, and there seems to be no resolution in sight.
Players are adamant that they will not play under a salary cap, which has been formally proposed by owners for the first time since 1994 — and we all know how that worked out.
"It really does feel like the players' union and the commissioner's office are speaking two different languages right now," former MLB star Nick Swisher said in a recent interview with Fox News Digital.
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It's horrible timing for the game amid a recent boom, as attendance has increased for three consecutive years for the first time since it did each year from 2004 to 2007. In 1995, after a players' strike that cost the '94 postseason, attendance was grim at MLB ballparks.
Swisher, though, has been on both sides of the coin — he won a World Series with the New York Yankees in 2009 and now has a role in their front office as well as the league itself. So, he has advice for both sides.
"I think just in general, the players have a lot of things that they can give, and I think the commissioner's office has some things that they can give, too. So, I think one of the things that I've always realized, especially now being in the business world, is you can't go into a negotiation trying to win. That always ends up bad," he said.
"I'm interested to see how these negotiations are going to come. Are we trying to come to an agreement or are we trying to win the negotiation? So, regardless if it's [MLBPA interim executive director] Bruce Meyer, if it's Rob Manfred in the commissioner's office, I just want the boys to figure it out. Man, we're in such a great spot right now. We need to continue to keep this game going because I don't want it to stop, because when it stops, the fans, they get angry about that. All of a sudden, the money starts coming into play and then people don't support us as much anymore. We just need to continue to keep pushing forward and try and figure out how to make this happen because come 2027, baby, in April, I want to start that season off right."
Players will place blame on small-market teams for not spending money. Those small-market owners, however, will claim they cannot afford big contracts, leaving the superstars to the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, Yankees, and a small handful of others. But rather than a cap, Swisher wants to see a salary floor.
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"You can't have teams paying $60 million a year, because statistically, it shows that those low-market teams don't make it very far into the playoffs. That's just statistics. But I think just in general, if you all of a sudden start bringing that floor into play and then all of a sudden the 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th guy on the roster is all of a sudden making some good money, I think that both sides have some things to give and take, and I hope that it works itself out," Swisher said.
"We're in a good spot right now. The game is really, really great. Whether you want to blame the commissioner's office, whether you want to blame the Players' Association, either way, bro, for me, man, I just want to get it done. Get it done. I don't care who's at fault. I don't care who bets against what. Let's just find a way to get our boys back on the field next year."
Swisher was back on two fields this past weekend — after attending the Yankees' Old Timers' Day in the Bronx, he was in Central Park on behalf of Angry Orchard to surprise one of the worst recreational adult softball teams in the country and play for them to hopefully get a win (they did with the 2010 All-Star).
"To be part of something absolutely new and untraditional, to not only invest in the winners but to invest in the underdogs, bro. They say, don't get angry, get orchard," Swisher said. "Just being able to be part of this and to play with the Sons of Pitches today was absolutely legendary and an epic, man.
"To be able to team up with an organization in a company like Angry Orchard who stands for the right things and wants to invest in everybody. The inclusivity of all of this is something I really enjoy, and to be able to not only handle the winners of the world but to be able to invest in the underdogs too, I think is great. So, for me to be part of the underdogs today, to pull off a W, it was legendary."