Major League Baseball Players Association Declines Owners’ Offer

(Bloomberg) -- The Major League Baseball Players Association voted to 33 to 5 against the league’s offer of a 60 game season, according to an ESPN report.

The vote follows the league’s decision to not consider the MLBPA’s latest counteroffer to play 70 games. Players had been expected to vote Sunday on the proposal, but postponed it to Monday after Executive Director Tony Clark received a letter from Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred.

Any baseball season will now have to be set unilaterally by the league.

The 2020 season, originally scheduled to begin on March 26, has been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The league is the last of the major U.S. sports to finalize plans for returning to play.

Plans to restart the season were thrown into doubt this month as teams across the league reported outbreaks of the coronavirus in their facilities. In response to outbreaks in Arizona and Florida, the Mets and Yankees were among the teams that decided to shift their spring trainings to their home stadiums.

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