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Mike Trout and several MLB players could face heavy financial losses
As part of a star quartet that would win more than US $ 200,000 per game, 65 players would earn at least US $ 100,000 each victory or defeat if the pandemic postponed major league season got under way. , according to an analysis of their contracts by The Associated Press.
Most recruits and players who earn the minimum wage would receive around $ 3,500 each. Each game on the Major Baseball calendar earns players around US $ 24 million.
Teams would not be outdone either, thanks to huge revenue streams from regional television networks and national broadcast contracts. Difficult negotiation is foreseeable if Major Baseball asks the Players' Association to accept salary reductions to compensate for the presentation of matches in empty stadiums.
"I would have to have all the information about income and things like that before deciding if I think it's fair for us to do so," said first base player Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals of. Washington. I know the owners make a lot of money. (...) We live in a truly unique situation. The guys want to play. The guys want to go back to the field.
"If there is a time when two parties who have had their differences in the past can come to an agreement and find solutions, the time would be right," he added. That being said, I'm not going to sit here and tell you that the players would be ready to do so. I don't even know if I would be willing to do it myself. "
Different scenarios
Zimmerman, 35, who is closer to the end of his career than his start, earns $ 2 million US, which is $ 12,346 per game.
Trout, 28, the star player of the Los Angeles Angels who has won the MVP three times, earns a salary of $ 36 million. He is tied with MLB with Cole, the 29-year-old right-hander who left the Houston Astros and signed with the New York Yankees as a free agent. This equates to $ 222,222 for each game in the 162 game season.
Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado is third with a fee of $ 216,049 per game, followed by Astros right-hander Justin Verlander ($ 203,704). Next is left-hander David Price, whom the Los Angeles Dodgers acquired from the Boston Red Sox in February at $ 197,531.
At the bottom of the salary scale, 392 of the approximately 900 players on the active and injured players' lists earn at least $ 10,000 per game, including $ 300 to $ 20,000 or more, $ 259 to $ 25,000 or more, 161 to $ 50,000 or more and $ 100 to $ 75,000 or more.
The season was scheduled to open on March 26, but has been postponed indefinitely due to the new coronavirus pandemic. Commissioner Rob Manfred is confident that the 2020 season will start at some point. Major Baseball and the union have discussed various scenarios which include playing in empty stadiums and neutral venues.
As part of an agreement reached in March between the MLB and the union, the players gained an important point in the negotiation: if no match is played, each player would obtain a service time equivalent to that accumulated in 2019. Under this agreement, the teams are advancing $ 170 million in salary, but the players waive any claim if the season is canceled. This leaves each player a maximum of $ 260,000, $ 60,000, $ 30,000 or $ 16,500, depending on their contract, if there is no season.
The players have agreed to distribute their salaries in proportion to the matches played.
Differences in interpretation
Signing bonuses are guaranteed, so the amount of money a player has to win this year is calculated by taking his 2020 salary, dividing by 162 (the original total of matches on the calendar) and multiplying by the total of matches according to the new opening date. If the season is interrupted later due to contagion, the formula becomes the total matches of a player's team.
Union leaders and some players argue that the agreement covers the conditions of any shortened season, whether in the presence of amateurs or not, but MLB authorities say this only applies to matches in regular stadiums with amateurs. The deal calls for "good faith" talks on neutral venues and non-partisan games, and Manfred claims that 40 percent of the revenue comes from ticket sales and stadium-related revenue, such as parking and concessions.
"Among the Pirates players, I have heard nothing to suggest that they are not really motivated to resume play," said Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington. When you have groups that are also motivated to find solutions, it probably strengthens my optimism, because when it does, you tend to find solutions. "
Twenty-eight players were earning the minimum wage of $ 563,500 when the lists were frozen on March 28, which is $ 3,478 per game. There were 369 to $ 600,000 or less, or $ 3,704 per game.
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