Peace in our time as baseball gets it right

There is a feeling out there in some circles that we must be living in some parallel universe now that major league baseball has avoided any kind of work stoppage for the next five years by coming to a new collective bargaining agreement with the players union without any acrimony, sabre-rattling or public posturing.

Nice, isn’t it?

(Griff has all the gory details here and if you can get away from the labour-strife-fatigue that’s hit all sports fans over the last little while, try to digest all that’s in this one).

Anyway, the new deal will take baseball past the two-decade mark for labour harmony when it’s completed, a far cry from what seemed to be strikes or lockouts that accompanied every CBA in the 80s and 90s, including the strike in ’94 that, well, that have hastened the demise of the Expos and still rankles Canadian sports fans.

With the NFL having come through a lockout already this year, basketball stalled by one that appears to have no end in sight and hockey apparently headed for another contentious round of bargaining, what are we to learn from baseball (and who thought those words will ever be written?).

Well they do share revenues and don’t have a salary cap of any form.

They do maximize profits from internet media, which is huge for them and not something the other sports do particularly well.

There is a level of competitive balance – look at the teams that are in the playoffs each year and, please, for the love of all that’s good in the world, get past the myopic American League East parochial view and put the blame where it should have been all those years – on Blue Jays ownership and management.

But what’s most important, in light of what’s going on in that sport I used to cover, is that the talks on this new deal began quietly, without any fanfare and quite a while ago.

They did not leave things until the last minute, they appear to have puttered around on their version of “system” issues for months, if not years, behind the scenes and in the true method of collective bargaining.

They didn’t not hold public bargaining session or give month-by-month updates; they did not call each other names, suggest that what one side wanted was never going to happen. They did it professionally and on their own and everyone came away happy.

There are those of us who used to think baseball was the most screwed up of all the sports when it came to relations between the union and the owners. The players were militant to a huge degree, the owners were unwavering in what they wanted. They got to the brink and beyond on almost every occasion.

Now? Not so much.

They’ve got it right. Everyone else has it wrong.

Odd, isn’t it? Good, but odd.

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Yes, of course we are too far under the spell of American sports, sillyheads.

But, tell the truth, you love American Thanksgiving, don’t you?

Never mind the morning parades (although who doesn’t remember watching the Macy’s deal every now and then just to see the giant balloons), it’s the afternoon of football that makes it best.

(And, yes, they are ruining it a bit by adding more games, leagues always do, even if this year’s Harbaugh-Harbaugh one has some juice).

Anyway, it does gives some of us a nice little respite from the week, there is a sense of tradition to it and, well, it’s just something a lot of people look forward.

Unlike, say, Christmas, we in Canada don’t have the emotional attachment to this day so some who might otherwise be bothered aren’t worried about the intrusion. It’s their holiday, the sports fans among us just benefit from it.

It’s not even New Years, or Canada Day, or Victoria Day, other days that occupy our time far more than the third fourth Thursday in November.

And, besides, some years, Leon Lett shows up and the day becomes high comedy.

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I can’t believe I forgot this yesterday – the anniversary of one of the seminal moments in an era when an American president was assassinated.

What a dope.

Anyway, it was one of the very few “Where were you when it happened” in my lifetime – maybe the night man walked on the moon, the afternoon of the Challenger explosion, very few others – but glad there was the facepalm, er, Facebook thingy to make up for it.

And if Tuesday was that anniversary, must mean Thursday marks the day this happened:

Speaking of Facebook, the smartypants at the office got one of those “click here to Like” thingies over at the top right; feel free to join any time.

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How many times, when we’re at HOTH games in Philadelphia, do I mention how I can’t quite figure out why the Sixers Chicken is a Rabbit?

(Yes, that’s code but most will get it).

Well, guess the new owners wondered that too, according to this little note that says the stuffed animal is no more and there’s a new sheriff, um, mascot coming to town.

I like the dude on the left as the winner; far better than the other one.

 

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Yes, I know. Been entirely remiss on the DTWS stuff in this season which drew to a close last night. Underwhelming cast, real-live issues, stuff got in the way.

But I did see a wee bit of the finale when the dude beat out another of those zany Kardashians to win (still say Ricky Lake got screwed, she was pretty good) and all I could think when I was watching the vote total was “how much did it cost Hump to pay off the judges so the ex’s sibling lost?”

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Oh, right.

First call

Mail. Here. Please. And if you’ve got any basketball ideas, click on the same place and put “Basketball” in the address field and we’ll see what we come up with. Or go here and so some fancy stuff.

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Comments

[doug]

baseball is a example of the owners letting their representative (Selig) do his job, when owners interfere it undermines the whole process, also baseball don't forget had some pretty militant union leadership in Marvin Miller and Fehr, changed a inequitable system into one that works ok....thanks for reminding me of Leon Lett's boneheaded play, i have as a Cowboys tried to block it out...speaking of the Sixers see where the new ownership group wants to bring back the Doc in some capacity, and they purchased 10 of his lots of playing memorabilia he had up for auction this past weekend...they seem like a class group, and interested in restoring Sixer history, that's good to see...and you mentioned the Expos as well, wow between Lett and the Expos tough start to my day))....cheers...

[Dave]

People, if you want Doug to do more NBL coverage, now is the time to tell the Tall Foreheads with the link Doug provided.

[Lorie]

Good Morning, Doug!
Most times I'm proud and happy (Especially after watching that GOP debate last evening...did you see any of it? What a joke! Didn't you expect (read: hope for the sake of all rational-thinking Americans) that at some point Seth Myers would pull off the Wolf Blitzer mask and say "Live From New York....) to be Canadian. But Americans do up Thanksgiving right; a 4-day holiday is such a brilliant idea, as is sweet potato pie. And some intriguing football matchups this year. But the best is the terrific movies this holiday has inspired. Who can forget Steve Martin and John Candy in Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Or Natalie Wood in Miracle on 34th Street. But my favourite Thanksgiving flick is a quiet, quirky little movie: Pieces of April with the marvellous Patricia Clarkson and surprising Katie Holmes.
http://youtu.be/sz6pGSKGdho
Hey, doesn't that painting of Ben Franklin look like they used Patrick McGoohan as the artist's model?

[joeu]

Regarding MLB as a model of labour negotiations, maybe every ownership group has to push past the "brink" before realizing they have to pull back.

And the MLB purchase and ownership of the Expos is still a huge black mark against Bud.

[Latrell]

"It’s not even New Years, or Canada Day, or Victoria Day, other days that occupy our time far more than the third Thursday in November."

Ummm, Doug... fourth Thursday in November.

[Tim H.]

"And if you’ve got any basketball ideas, click on the same place and put “Basketball” in the address field and we’ll see what we come up with."

I tried this, and got an error. Did you mean to go to the usual submit mail page, and put Basketball in the email address field? If so, that produces the error.

Blogger's note: Hmm. I'll see about getting that fixed; for now, the usual mailbag place is fine

[Amanda Tallon]

I think at this point in time, there is a lot that the other major North American sports can learn from baseball, and it really shouldn't be surprising.

By no means has baseball been perfect, even throughout the labour peace. But, the biggest thing other leagues and unions could take away from baseball's talks is to actually work together; recognize that you're working toward the same goal (keeping operations going), even if the reasons for doing so differ.

[doug]

this is a good "best of list' i am not usually a fan but rolling stone does a good job here with the ranking, maybe I'd rank Gilmour higher but hard to displace someone else...lot of good rifts from that crew.....NBA and the union are talking I see, Hunter and Stern, going mano-a-mano as it should be no room for the Allen's/Jordan's of the world let Stern do his job...as it should be....

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/23/jimi-hendrix-named-greate_n_1109574.html?ref=entertainment