Rob Manfred reacted to Anthony Rizzo from the Chicago Cubs and spoke about a shorter regular season. From the MLB commissioner’s point of view, if there were fewer games, the players’ salaries would also fall.
“Anthony’s statements were realistic,” Manfred said: “If you reduce the number of games to 154, the players must join in. “They work less, so they will probably earn less.”
The chairman of the players’ association, Tony Clark, has repeatedly resisted salary cuts in recent years – even if the season is shortened.
Manfred himself admits that he has already discussed the length of the Regular Season several times. “We had significant conversations about 154 or 158 games,” Manfred said. At the time when he was appointed Commissioner, the subject was “hotly debated in the scene”.
Rizzo commented on possible changes to the schedule after repeated postponements of matches against the St. Louis Cardinals. “I think playing in the cold sucks,” Rizzo said, adding, “We play too much baseball.”
The Cubs won the game at the Colorado Rockies on Friday evening 16:5.