The most powerful union in sports meets its match
Bloomberg Businessweek|April 04, 2022
Visitors entering the 30th-floor lobby of Major League Baseball’s old headquarters on Park Avenue in New York a few years back would immediately encounter 30 mannequins, one for each of the league’s teams. The display was impressive, but some players who visited the offices couldn’t help but notice what each mannequin was missing: its head.
Ben Reiter
The most powerful union in sports meets its match

“Why should the Angels jersey not have a face when you have Mike Trout or Shohei Ohtani?” asks Andrew Miller, referring, respectively, to one of the greatest offensive players of all time and the Japanese star seen by many as the second coming of Babe Ruth. An MLB spokesperson says the installation was intended to show offthe uniforms for the benefit of merchandisers and licensees. But for Miller, the display was symbolic of how the league sees its players. “There’s not a whole lot of respect coming from them toward us at times,” says Miller, a 36-year-old reliever and one of the eight players on the executive subcommittee of the Major League Baseball Players Association. “It’s almost like they dehumanize who the players are and what they bring. We just become chess pieces.”

Baseball’s commissioner, Rob Manfred, is a Harvard-trained labor lawyer who’s served as the league’s chief negotiator for several collective bargaining agreements starting in 2002. Despite his adversarial history, Manfred promised a new era of labor relations when he took the top job in 2015. “I am a player guy—all the time,” he told espn.com that year.

He isn’t. Some fans still believe a commissioner is an impartial figure, tirelessly working for the good of the sport. But Manfred’s central mandate is to continuously increase the revenue, profitability, and value of the league’s 30 franchises—while privately working on behalf of his 30 billionaire (or near enough) bosses, the teams’ owners. Like every professional sports commissioner, he’s an owner guy—all the time.

Esta historia es de la edición April 04, 2022 de Bloomberg Businessweek.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición April 04, 2022 de Bloomberg Businessweek.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEKVer todo
Instagram's Founders Say It's Time for a New Social App
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Instagram's Founders Say It's Time for a New Social App

The rise of AI and the fall of Twitter could create opportunities for upstarts

time-read
4 minutos  |
March 13, 2023
Running in Circles
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Running in Circles

A subscription running shoe program aims to fight footwear waste

time-read
3 minutos  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
What I Learned Working at a Hawaiien Mega-Resort
Bloomberg Businessweek US

What I Learned Working at a Hawaiien Mega-Resort

Nine wild secrets from the staff at Turtle Bay, who have to manage everyone from haughty honeymooners to go-go-dancing golfers.

time-read
10 minutos  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
How Noma Will Blossom In Kyoto
Bloomberg Businessweek US

How Noma Will Blossom In Kyoto

The best restaurant in the world just began its second pop-up in Japan. Here's what's cooking

time-read
3 minutos  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
The Last-Mover Problem
Bloomberg Businessweek US

The Last-Mover Problem

A startup called Sennder is trying to bring an extremely tech-resistant industry into the age of apps

time-read
10+ minutos  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Tick Tock, TikTok
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Tick Tock, TikTok

The US thinks the Chinese-owned social media app is a major national security risk. TikTok is running out of ways to avoid a ban

time-read
10+ minutos  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Cleaner Clothing Dye, Made From Bacteria
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Cleaner Clothing Dye, Made From Bacteria

A UK company produces colors with less water than conventional methods and no toxic chemicals

time-read
3 minutos  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Pumping Heat in Hamburg
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Pumping Heat in Hamburg

The German port city plans to store hot water underground and bring it up to heat homes in the winter

time-read
3 minutos  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Sustainability: Calamari's Climate Edge
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Sustainability: Calamari's Climate Edge

Squid's ability to flourish in warmer waters makes it fitting for a diet for the changing environment

time-read
4 minutos  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
New Money, New Problems
Bloomberg Businessweek US

New Money, New Problems

In Naples, an influx of wealthy is displacing out-of-towners lower-income workers

time-read
4 minutos  |
March 20 - 27, 2023