It might be a very small thing. It might go nowhere. But finally – FINALLY – something that was obviously correct has happened in the MLB/MLBPA stalemate.
They f***ing talked.
Breaking: MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and players union chief Tony Clark had what’s being called a productive meeting face to face in Arizona. Meeting was called at Manfred’s request
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) June 17, 2020
We’ll await details if there are any, but this is *precisely* what needed to happen yesterday: the two guys in charge getting in a room and talking, and at Manfred’s request. His was the first sword that needed to be fallen on, which means he had to reach out to say, OK, we need to talk.
Again, that doesn’t mean this resolves things. More fighting can (will?) follow. But this was unequivocally the first step that needed to happen. I’m just so relieved that they actually did it, for once.
UPDATE: The two are meeting again today:
Commissioner Rob Manfred flew to Phoenix last night to have one-on-one meetings with union chief Tony Clark, and again today. @JonHeyman was first with the meeting.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) June 17, 2020
Your dream scenario? The two hammer out a deal that they each believe they can sell to their constituents, Clark the players, and Manfred the owners. They leave today’s meeting with a plan to convince their groups that this is the way it has to be, and then they sell sell sell sell.
Again, that’s your dream scenario for today, and how often has that come to pass in the baseball world since 2016?