As MLB Lockout Causes Cancellations, Players Turn To Social Media

During times when games are allowed to be played and the Yankees get into a slump or stop hitting in a postseason series, some harken back to wonder how the reaction would unfold before social media existed and ultimately exploded into daily life.

Such as what it would have looked like in the 1980s when the Yankees changed managers 12 times. Would the always outspoken owner fire the manager via tweet or issue a missive about an underperforming team using the same platform?

Or pertaining to current events such as the state of baseball, which has seen an owner-imposed lockout persist to the point where games were canceled shortly after the MLB-imposed deadline of 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday.

Shortly after commissioner Rob Manfred made the announcement following an awkward moment that showed him laughing, players continued to use the power of social media to get their message across.

Besides the standard statement from the MLBPA after MLB tweeted out a letter to fans that rang similar to its note when the lockout started, there were various uses of social media from players ranging from veterans to younger players.

And it was a continuation of what Yankee right-hander Jameson Taillon tweeted after he was among a contingent of New York players such as Max Scherzer, Gerrit Cole, Francisco Lindor and Zack Britton to participate in last week’s meetings.

On Monday at 2:36 pm, which was 11 hours and 51 minutes before lengthy meetings ended Tuesday morning, Taillon used the platform to criticize the tactics of owners.

Other such as Michael Lorenzen, who signed a one-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels two days before the lockout tactic was instituted ahead of 43 days of no bargaining, used social media to point out Manfred’s awkward reaction before starting his remarks. It was a tweet that was met with mostly profane responses toward Manfred from peeved fans.

Alex Wood, who was 10-4 for the 107-win San Francisco Giants pointed out how it would be perceived that players are to blame as various reports were trickling out Monday night/Tuesday morning about how meetings appeared to be trending positively.

Others had less detailed posts such as Cincinnati Reds reliever Amir Garrett, who tweeted a desire to figure it out about 22 minutes before Manfred’s announcement.

Marco Gonzales, who won 10 games for the 90-win Seattle Mariners – the same team whose president Kevin Mather was caught on video admitting the team manipulated service time – pointed out the nuances of the televised coverage when MLB Network did not show the stream of the MLBPA presser.

Other tweets attempted a little levity in a frustration situation such as Joey Gallo creating a LinkedIn profile that lists his work experience, education with a sarcastic list of skills.

The tweets and other social media posts were numerous but those are some of the sampling of messages by players, who is deploying Max Scherzer as a prominent negotiator against a group whose figurehead claims the “last five years were difficult from a revenue perspective” even though there is evidence that contradicts the statement and additional revenue streams coming from expanded playoffs.

Ultimately the sport is at a point where it claimed it did not want to reach and verification of statements is significantly easier than it was in 1994 and 1995 when it took a preliminary  injunction by current Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor against Major League Baseball in the case of Silverman vs. MLB Players Relations Committee that ruled in favor of players, prevented owners from implanting replacement baseball and ended the 232-strike by ordering the sport to resume while negotiations resumed, something that could have occurred since Dec. 2.

Baseball’s labor history is ugly from the early days to the mid-1980s when owners colluded against players to the strike that canceled the World Series but 27 years later, the labor issue is amplified with the thoughts of outspoken players on social media whether it’s a lengthy post, a retweet or a like.

Meanwhile the owners have nobody making any social media comments other than the letter from MLB, which was met with the reaction of annoyed public.

Perhaps the most notable social media account among owners is from Steve Cohen, who experienced an extremely eventful first season owning the Mets. He announced the team was hiring Buck Showalter on Twitter on Dec. 18 but has not been heard from since wishing everyone a happy new year five hours, 22 minutes before 2022 started.

Dick Monfort, who is on MLB’s negotiating committee has no social media presence unless you want to enjoy gallows humor of various parody accounts.

But nobody knows the true feelings of someone like Cohen, whose flashy spending spree before the lockout, would be significantly impacted by MLB’s proposed Competitive Balance Tax.

At some point the game will pick up again. The players just want to know when and where once a deal is reached just like they did in June 2020 shortly before MLB imposed a 60-game season.

And so do the fans, at least those who will stick with a sport that offers dynamic talent in spite of the actions of management. Until then expect more from players with the powerful tool of social media.