Former MLB commissioner Fay Vincent is warning owners to tread carefully through their latest labor battle with players.
Vincent, who served as commissioner from 1989-1992, sees similarities between the infamous 1994 players strike and today's ongoing labor war. As the sides continue to stare each other down while trying to start a shortened 2020 season, Vincent is unwavering in his belief that owners can't win this fight while players present a united front.
"It cannot be done. It's the same thing I told the owners in 1994 (before the strike), 'if you shut the game down, you're going to war with the union and that union cannot be broken," the 82-year-old told Bob Klapisch of NJ.com. "It looks like it's 1994 all over again. I don't think anyone has learned their lesson."
Vincent's tenure as commissioner ended on a sour note when he resigned in 1992, shortly before he lost a nonconfidence vote. Owners replaced him with Bud Selig, whose reign included overseeing the strike and cancellation of the 1994 World Series.
Today, the battle between owners and players is centered around salary structure for a shortened season. Players are insisting on receiving prorated salaries in 2020 - as initially agreed upon when the sport shut down in March - while playing around 114 games; owners want a shorter schedule to keep salaries down and don't want to extend into the winter months.
Relations that were already frosty have grown even more strained in recent weeks after players overwhelmingly rejected additional salary cuts. On Friday, the union's lead negotiator ripped MLB's "cynical" negotiating tactics and questioned the league's desire to play in 2020.
MLBPA head Tony Clark, a former player himself, now feels "backed into a corner" by the league, a source told Klapisch.
Vincent feels that current players' mistrust in owners is dooming the 2020 season to join 1994 as incomplete.
"I'm not optimistic about (them reaching) a deal," Vincent said. "I just don't think it's going to happen."
