Baseball is back. Spring training camps are opened and games have begun. In a few weeks, the excitement of Opening Day will hit all 30 Major League cities. On April 15, baseball will once again celebrate Jackie Robinson Day, commemorating and honoring the day Jackie made his Major League debut in 1947, breaking baseball’s color line and becoming the first African-American ballplayer in the Majors. All field personnel will wear Jackie’s No. 42 uniform number in his honor. It’s a great celebration of a great man, whose contributions transcend sports and are firmly woven into the fabric of our nation’s history. As we celebrate Jackie, we will also hear what has become a familiar refrain: the dwindling number of African-Americans playing baseball at all levels. It is an issue that has been diced and sliced to such a degree through conversation and analysis that there is nothing really left to be said. Thankfully, MLB and the MLBPA have taken steps to move beyond the talking stage through their $30 million joint initiative to increase youth participation in baseball and softball. The initiative was announced last year and there have been a number of positive steps taken, the early returns of […]
It now comes down to this. For the player, it’s been years of competing and succeeding at the highest level and accumulating enough service time to become (or stay) eligible for salary arbitration. For the majority of clubs, it’s been years of developing the player and seeing him grow and contribute to the organization. For the advocates on both sides of the table, it’s been months of research and analysis of statistics and the challenging task of reducing it all to a 100-page presentation. Salary arbitration is a unique process. It is not “arbitration” in the traditional sense of the word. There are no court reporters to take testimony, there is no swearing-in of witnesses, there are no post-hearing briefs or oral arguments and, perhaps most notable of all, there are no written decisions from the arbitrators. Salary arbitration cases are presented before a panel of three arbitrators, all of whom are among the top labor arbitrators in the country. Why labor? Because the relationship between the Players Association and the Clubs is grounded in labor law and governed by a collective bargaining agreement. When not hearing salary arbitration cases over the first three weeks of February, the panel […]