Alex Rodriguez: MLB ‘cannot afford to have any games missed’

Alex Rodriguez believes Major League Baseball needs to help itself by the owners and players reaching a new collective bargaining agreement without missing games.

Rodriguez was the first guest on Jimmy Traina’s newly launched The Traina Thoughts Podcast this week for Underscore Media. During the interview, Traina asked Rodriguez about MLB’s labor dispute and whether the players and owners could agree to a new CBA without missing games.

“I think there is a chance, Rodriguez admitted. “I’m hopeful that there’s not (games missed). But I’ve spoken to dozens of people from both sides, and they’re both dug in like I’ve never seen before in 35 years of being around the game of baseball at the Major Leagues.”

Rodriguez said it’s starting to feel like a political fight, where no matter what one side says, the other side is just going to take an opposing stance on principle.

“I hope cooler heads prevail,” Rodriguez continued. “The game is doing so well from viewership to people going to the stadiums, all the great work Rob Manfred has done with the clock, with the bases, with the shift. The product is really good right now. A World Series that saw 53 million people watch.”

“No matter how good the deal is for either side, if there is a work stoppage, it’s not going to be better than if they get a deal with no stoppage,” he insisted. “I remember being there Aug. 12, 1994, in Oakland. But there was no Netflix, there was no YouTube, there was no Prime, Apple TV. There’s so much competition for our eyeballs now that we cannot afford to have any games missed.

When the 1994 World Series was canceled, it still took years and a steroid-enhanced league to lure fans back. How long would it take for fans to come back from a canceled season or World Series in 2027 where there is no shortage of entertainment options? The owners might be able to recoup the financial losses of a canceled season through expected expansion teams, but there will undoubtedly be lasting damage to the league’s relationship with its fans that may never be fully rectified.

Everyone agrees there will be a lockout. Everyone agrees there is the risk of canceled games because the owners are more aligned on the desire to implement a salary cap than ever before. Everyone agrees that a canceled season would be a disaster for the sport. But no one has a solution for how players and owners can agree on a CBA that creates more financial balance. Until that is figured out, the owners and players will continue their high-stakes game of chicken, hoping one side gives in before the fans walk away.