UPDATE:
On Friday night, Detroit Tigers owner Chris Ilitch released a statement following the report that he was one of four owners who opposed the MLB luxury tax increase to $220 million.
“Whether you’re an owner, player or fan, we’re all eager to get baseball back on the field,” Ilitch said in a statement given to Brad Galli. “As we continue working towards that goal, it’s not helpful to the process for me to comment on internal MLB matters or speculation. We’re all ready to feel the excitement and energy of the season here in Detroit, and know our fans are looking forward to enjoying Tigers baseball as soon as possible.”
Chris Ilitch: "it’s not helpful to the process for me to comment on internal MLB matters or speculation. We’re all ready to feel the excitement and energy of the season here in Detroit, and know our fans are looking forward to enjoying Tigers baseball as soon as possible.” [2/2]
— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) March 5, 2022
PREVIOUS REPORT:
As you have most certainly heard by now, the 2022 Major League Baseball season will not start on time as MLB commissioner Rob Manfred made an announcement that at least the first two series of the season have been canceled and will not be made up.
This announcement came on the heels of MLB and the MLBPA not being able to establish and agree upon a new collective bargaining agreement.
Now, according to sources of Evan Drellich of The Athletic, Detroit Tigers owner Chris Ilitch was one of four owners who opposed the MLB luxury tax increase to $220 million.
In other words, Ilitch is in favor of screwing the players on the Tigers.
From The Athletic:
Four Major League Baseball owners — Bob Castellini of the Reds, Chris Ilitch of the Tigers, Ken Kendrick of the Diamondbacks and Arte Moreno of the Angels — objected to raising the competitive balance tax to the levels the league ultimately proposed most recently, three people briefed on an owner-wide call held this week told The Athletic. MLB moved forward with the proposal anyway, moving its offer on the first threshold to $220 million — up $10 million from where it was in 2021, and $6 million from its previous offer, but still far below the players’ ask of $238 million.
The luxury tax’s rate of growth has not kept pace with the overall revenues growth in the sport, making it one of the main concerns for the players.
The resistance of the four owners reveals at least some of the hard-liners who are likely influencing perhaps the single-most contentious issue in negotiations that have already cost the sport games. One person briefed on the call noted that White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, a hawk in the 1994-95 dispute, was not among those to stand in the way. Not all small-market owners — owners who theoretically would be most disadvantaged by an increase in the luxury tax, which curtails high-end spending — were opposed to the raise, either. Rather, at least some of the four owners took stances based on their personal feelings toward costs and baseball’s economic system, sources said.
This is an absolute embarrassment and it just shows how little Chris Ilitch cares about the game of baseball, the players, and the fans. His father would be ashamed of him.
