Roughly one week removed from stating that he was certain there would be some form of a 2020 Major League Baseball season, it appears the frustrating labor negotiations between MLB owners and the MLBPA have changed Commissioner Rob Manfred’s tune. As ESPN’s Jeff Passan relayed Monday afternoon, the commish went on record on radio stating he’s “not confident” there will be a 2020 season, which is a pretty damning indictment of the current state of affairs from baseball’s highest official.
Is that the death knell for 2020 baseball? No, not exactly.
Is that a clear sign of how conflagratory the 2021 Collective Bargaining Agreement renegotiation is going to be between MLB and the MLBPA?