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Iannetta, a catcher with the New York Yankees,
and Miller, a reliever with the St. Louis Cardinals, feel there
is a lot of risk on the players' end to play games without fans
in the stands. That is especially true with the coronavirus
outbreak not under control and still a major threat.
And in their eyes, baseball players should be fairly compensated
and not have to take a salary hit simply because the owners
might sustain revenue losses in the millions.
"The way our sport works is we are not tied to revenue in any
way," Miller told ESPN. "If the owners hit a home run and make
more money, we don't go back and ask for more on our end.
Ultimately this isn't about money. We need to find a way to
safely get our players on the field in a safe manner and control
that. I would hope (finances) doesn't turn into anything
regarding that stuff."
Iannetta said not only are players risking their health but so
are umpires, groundskeepers and any other support staff on site.
"It goes back to not having fans in the stands," Iannetta told
ESPN. "If there's no fans in the stands, there is an intrinsic
risk that players are going to undertake. There is an intrinsic
risk that support staff and coaches are going to undertake, and
we should get fairly compensated for taking that risk for the
betterment of the game and the betterment of the owners who
stand to make a huge profit off the game."
As speculation increases that MLB will announce some plan
involving the season sometime next week, the finances involved
could become an intense discussion.
The two sides reached a salary agreement in late March that
included $170 million in upfront money for the players. But
reports are now in circulation claiming the owners will seek
further reductions if games are played without fans in the
stands.
Miller doesn't see another cut as an option.
"We understand that this year isn't going to be as financially
rewarding for the ownership groups (but) there is higher risk
this season," Miller said. "If it's not safe to bring fans into
games, you're still asking us to play, there's certainly a risk
there. ... Travel is limited to essential, and we're traveling,
that means there is risk involved."
Iannetta is willing to listen but doesn't sound interested in
budging too much.
"We'll explore a lot of options, but I think there will be some
things we're going to say no to," Iannetta said. "Just based on
government regulations, the chances of having fans in the stands
is going to be next to zero. With that in mind, there is some
inherent risk to this, and we'll weed through the proposal and
I'm sure we'll agree on some things and some things we won't
because it's implying too much risk for everyone."
Of course, baseball's plan for testing will be another important
component. It also begs the question of what happens if a player
tests positive.
The uncertainly on the health front rates as a major concern in
the players' eyes.
"There's always risks in life, but this seems like something
that is very front and center," Miller said. "There's still a
lot of unknowns. We need answers. We can't ask guys to go out
and put their lives at risk. We all want to play. Trust me."
--Field Level Media
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