MLB: Bernie Sanders Demands Rob Manfred to "End the Lockout" After CBA Talks Collapsed

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has a plea addressed to Major League Baseball (MLB) Commissioner Rob Manfred on Wednesday, following the lockout that canceled two regular seasons of the league.

Sanders took to Twitter to address the issue but first discussed how much the 30 teams in the league value.

"The 30 Major League Baseball owners are worth over $100 billion. The value of their teams increased by more than $41 billion since they bought them," Sanders said.

The senator then urged the MLB commission to do something on the lockout that canceled the two regular seasons of the league.

"Mr. Manfred: End the lockout. Negotiate in good faith. Don't let the greed of baseball owners take away our national pastime," Bernie Sanders ended his statement.

It was not the first time that the Vermont senator spoke and showed that he has a concern for baseball.

According to Yahoo! News, Sanders criticized Manfred in 2019 after the league proposed to cut 42 minor league teams. Sanders and Manfred met to discuss the said issue, but the teams were still cut off.

Because of this, Sanders called Manfred's move a "disaster for baseball fans."

Dedicated to baseball, Sanders also showed his skills in the sport during his presidential campaign. He also reportedly commented on Brooklyn Dodger's move to Los Angeles "the worst thing that ever happened" as he was known to be a huge fan of the team.

Commissioner Rob Manfred Announces MLB's 2 Regular-Season Cancellation

Senator Bernie Sanders's comment on Wednesday came a day after commissioner Rob Manfred announced that the MLB will scrap two regular-season games over a labor dispute, per ESPN.

The issue arose when the owners and the players were unable to agree on a contract to replace the collective bargaining agreement that expired on December 1.

"My deepest hope is we get an agreement quickly... I'm really disappointed we didn't make an agreement," Manfred said.

Manfred explained that the disparities between the league and the players were the reason behind the lockout.

ESPN pointed out that MLB proposed $25 million annually for a new bonus pool, but the player's union wanted $85 million with a $5 million increase annually. Furthermore, the league also proposed players' minimum salaries ranging from $675,000 to $700,000. However, the union wanted a minimum of $725,000 this year.

The cancellation of the first two series will affect all the 30 MLB teams. Because of this, the clubs' schedule will be cut to 156 from 162, a total of at least 92 games erased.

Manfred also said that MLB and the union have not yet made plans on future negotiations and that players won't be paid for the missed games.

According to an AP study, MLB players would lose around $20.5 million in salary each day of the season that is canceled.

MLB Player Says Owners' CBA Aims to 'Kill Their Own Product'

In the light of the MLB lockout, league players blamed the owners as the two sides did not come into agreement on Tuesday.

Speaking to Athletic, an unnamed MLB player said that the decision should be about "morality," per Bleacher Report.

"It's a business, but business is booming... When it comes to corporate greed at that level, it's just hard to comprehend how [far] owners will go. They don't want to just win; they want to kill their own product. It's crazy," the MLB player said.

Amid lockout and disparities between players and the league, the MLB player's union said on Tuesday that it will push for canceled games to be rescheduled when talks resume.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written By: Joshua Summers

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