00:00How about this, Dinker?
00:02Do you think the game's in a good place right now?
00:06I don't think it matters because I think there's going to be a significant work stoppage coming up.
00:14I don't think it can be avoided.
00:15I don't think there's any chance they avoid it.
00:19And I think the chaos in the Players Association with Tony Clark's problems aren't going to help.
00:31How about this, Kurt?
00:33If there's an issue in baseball, in your opinion, what is the biggest issue between players and the teams?
00:40What do you think that problem is right now that really you think is at the forefront of this?
00:46It's no different than the NFL and the NFL owners and the NBA and the NBA players trust.
00:53The owners lie and have lied for forever.
00:58And, you know, as I was on the relations board or the player committee and a player rep for 10
01:06years.
01:07And I got I was in the 94 lockout and I was in the negotiations of the 94 lockout.
01:11And not only do they the owners lie, but they lie to your face.
01:15And it's almost like a it's almost like we are with our government right now in the sense that you
01:21can't trust anything anybody says.
01:24And when that's the leading element of the relations and there's it's changed a little bit.
01:31And I think that there's less.
01:34I don't want to say less involvement because I don't think that's the case, but I think there's there's less
01:41intensity from the players side because.
01:45The situation has changed so dramatically and, you know, when the average salary is four or five, six million, I
01:52don't think the priorities are different.
01:55I just think things have changed, but there's going to be an enormously negative labor stoppage.
02:02I think that this is going to be the one opportunity that they're going to have to get a salary
02:07cap.
02:07And I feel like the players, I don't know, hope the players are unified enough to hold off.
02:12How about this?
02:13You think this is going to be more devastating, maybe, in your opinion, than what you went through in 94
02:19with it really damaged the game?
02:20Do you think this is going to be in that conversation?
02:25Here's what I don't know.
02:27The social media landscape has changed.
02:30The world has changed from a media perspective so dramatically.
02:34You know, I heard you talking earlier about the TV problems you have with the TV package.
02:39The problem is.
02:41From Major League Baseball's perspective, this isn't a bad TV deal.
02:47They got enormous amounts of money.
02:49That's that's the win lose for the baseball for the owners is how much did they make?
02:56Because they have, unfortunately, on a local level, baseball is priced out to the average everyday consumer.
03:03And why on earth?
03:06Think about this.
03:08Do you know of any for profit business in the world that would shrink its audience?
03:13No.
03:15Right.
03:15Why?
03:16Why are Major League Stadiums getting smaller?
03:20There there there there there's no 60,000 seat stadium anymore.
03:24There they're 35,000 seat and 40,000 seat because they're charging more price and their luxury boxes don't take
03:33up as much space.
03:35And and that it's it's it's about revenue.
03:37And and so it's weird.
03:39It's weird.
03:40And when you think about it like that.
03:41But the social media landscape has changed so much.
03:45I don't know.
03:46This could be 10 times more damaging because people have.
03:52What?
03:52A thousand percent more opportunities to be entertained outside of.
03:58You know, the excuse me, the only thing that baseball holds over everything else and other sports right now.
04:05They're the last form of real time entertainment, because with social media and and and and entertainment, the way I
04:13can watch what I want, when I want, where I want, except for a live sporting event.
04:20And they will always have that.
04:22And when they lose that exclusivity or when they I think when they they play fast and loose with that.
04:30I think that's going to be a problem.
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