MLB players have been predictably frustrated with the fruitless CBA negotiations. Last week, it was reported that the league promised the MLBPA a counter proposal, failed to present a counter, and then asked for federal mediation for future bargaining sessions. Former Dodgers starting pitcher Rich Hill slammed MLB commissioner Rob Manfred for the league’s latest actions.
“Quite frankly, I said it before – I don’t see how Manfred has done anything good for the game. Can we point to one thing that he has done that is a positive for the game of baseball? Because nothing jumps out at me.”
Hill continued to attack Manfred in his appearance on AM570’s Dodger Talk with David Vassegh.
“Cutting the draft, cutting minor league teams, sucking the life out of the health of the game, that is something to me that’s very, very upsetting.”
The words of the 17-year MLB veteran surely resonate among the players who feel that Manfred and MLB have not negotiated in good faith thus far. Hill is well-regarded player who’s spent plenty of time in plenty of clubhouses.
Manfred’s relationship, or lack thereof, with the MLB players has only fed into the conflict between the two parties.
Many point to Manfred’s questionable management of the Houston Astros sign stealing scandal and his role in the highly delayed start to the 2020 MLB season as the building blocks for the players disdain for the commissioner.
MLB owners have also greatly contributed to the current state of affairs, but according to Hill, plenty of the blame should be given to Manfred.