Category: Labor & Employment

Ex-MLB Pitcher files lawsuit against Astros over Sign-Stealing Scandal

Spring is here and baseball is finally returning from what has been a tedious offseason for just about everyone involved. Of course, at the heart of the frustration lies the now-infamous sign-stealing scandal that undoubtedly gave the Houston Astros a disproportionate competitive advantage en route to their 2017 World Series championship. However, while fans, players and front office execs alike are all justifiably upset with the Astros’ cheating, one former pitcher has particularly good reason to not only be frustrated with the ex-champions, but also take them to court.

On August 4th, 2017, Mike Bolsinger of the Toronto Blue Jays entered the game in the 4th inning to relieve as they were trailing the Astros 7-2. With a runner on and two outs, Bolsinger’s outcomes are as follows: walk, three-run home run, double, walk, single, walk, warning-track fly out. As a result of the horrendous outing, his ERA ballooned from 5.49 to 6.31 (league average was 4.36 that year) while his WHIP went from 1.66 to 1.81 (avg. was 1.33) and the Blue Jays promptly designated him for assignment after what would prove to be his final game in the big leagues since.

Given his stats —and if we’re being honest the eye-test too— it is clear Bolsinger certainly was never a Cy Young candidate by any means, yet the degree to which he gets teed-off seems oddly high. You can watch the entire appearance here, but the MLB’s investigation confirms part of what we see unfold in the clip: the Houston batters knew what pitches would be delivered before they were even thrown and allegedly used the trash-can-banging system on 12 of the 29 pitches Bolsinger threw. So, the question becomes, “If the Astros had not stolen signs, would the results of Bolsinger’s appearance be different in a way that would have ‘saved’ his job?”

The official way in which this civil suit is being framed is whether or not the Astros  engaged in unfair business practices and negligence via a “duplicitous and tortious scheme of sign-stealing.” Though initially filed toward the Astros organization on February 10th, the original grievance contained Doe defendants, essentially defendants to-be-named later, which reportedly likely include Astros Owner Jim Crane.

The significance of his involvement in this lawsuit stems from Commissioner Rob Manfred’s summary of Crane’s role in the scandal. Manfred wrote, “Jim Crane was unaware of any of the violations of MLB rules by his club,” plainly exonerating him. However, after the year-long suspensions and subsequent firings of general manager Jeff Lunhow and manager A.J. Hinch, Crane is the last man standing among a splintered front office and has been able to keep himself isolated from any sanctions. While it remains to be seen how directly the lawsuit aims to implicate Crane, it is possible that more details about his understanding —or lack thereof— of the cheating are made public which would inevitably drag out the controversy even further.

Odds are that the lawsuit will never reach trial, however if it did how would it play out? The only thing close to a baseball crime of this magnitude traces back to 1919 when eight members of the Chicago White Sox were accused of intentionally losing the World Series in exchange for a share of the profits from a gambling syndicate. So, while there isn’t a true precedent, a couple factors will outline the way the case proceeds.

First, grievances dealing with a player’s salary are covered by a labor law preemption, meaning that the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the MLB and MLBPA will govern any bargain between the feuding parties. To that end, the Astros can appeal the court to dismiss the lawsuit so that Bolsinger must arbitrate. There are several considerations that follow and make this aspect of the proceeding much more complex, however SportsIllustrated has covered these nuances in depth here for those who want to go a step further.

More interesting, however, is the question of whether or not the “Astros game” truly caused the derailing of Bolsinger’s career. As his aforementioned stats show, 2017 was already shaping up to be a make-or-break season for the 6’1″ righty as he was carrying a mediocre 6.83 ERA from the year prior into his first (and only) season with the Blue Jays. Yet, despite forfeiting 21 earned runs in just 27.2 innings in that 2016 season, 2015 provided a lot of hope for Bolsinger’s future in the league when he started 21 games, tossing 109 innings to the tune of a cool 3.62 ERA.

So, did Bolsinger, a 10th-round pick who never cracked any top-prospect lists, truly have a potential future that was unfairly derailed by Houston’s cheating? Or was his 2015 season just a fluke and his departure from the big leagues always inevitable? The most challenging aspect of all of this is that this outing against the Astros proved to be his final appearance in the MLB, so it is easy to hypothesize the “what ifs” that could have changed the course of history. Yet, I’m inclined to think that Bolsinger’s career would have been effectively over regardless of how bad a bashing the Astros gave him on that August 4th game.

Between his uninspiring rise from prospect obscurity to what seemed to be a failed starter-turned-reliever experiment, Bolsinger had the profile of someone destined to be in the MLB just for a cup of coffee while teams try to figure out if he has the “it” needed to stay. Toronto took a flier on him and despite returning to Triple A and posting an electric 1.70 ERA over 47.2 innings, its clear that the Blue Jays and the rest of the league were ready to move on from him.

These considerations are why this lawsuit figures to be so complex and monumental. Bolsinger’s attorney, Ben Meiselas of LA-based Geragos & Geragos, has a steep case to make, but successfully represented Colin Kaepernick in his collusion grievance against the NFL. The ramifications of any settlement that may be reached are far-reaching traveling all the way up to the office of the Astros owner and could prompt more players to follow suit (no pun intended). In any case, the dark cloud of Houston’s sign stealing scandal that looms over baseball won’t be going away any time soon.

Oliver Green

Noticias de la demanda de Arturo Vidal contra F.C. Barcelona

Ha habido mucho que hablar de Barcelona F.C. en los días recientes. Entre el despido del ex-entrenador, Ernesto Valverde, el desempeño tambaleante del equipo hasta este punto de la temporada, y los rumores de los candidatos para rellenar las vacantes dejadas de los delanteros heridos Luis Suarez y Ousmane Demebele, no hay ninguna falta de titulares de seguir. Sin embargo, uno de los más interesantes sino menos mencionados se centra en el mediocampista veterano, Arturo Vidal.

El chileno está en su segunda temporada con el club catalana después de firmar un contrato de tres años y €18 millones en 2018. El contrato también incluyo unas primas que aumentaría el total por 3 milliones de euros, la mayoría de lo cual por incentivos de tiempo de juego. Pero, Vidal dice que el conjunto azulgrana le debe un supuesto bono de €2.4 millones. Por eso, sus abogados presentaron una demanda ante el sindicato de futbolistas de España (AFE) al final del año pasado.

Según el diario Sport, hay unas cláusulas en el contrato, entres las cuales una que hubiera dado un bono si Vidal jugara un mínimo del 60% de los partidos. Sin embargo, dado que Vidal no logró este reto, el club es cauteloso de aceptar las pretensiones del jugador porque sentaría un mal precedente de lo que otros jugadores se aprovecharían. Pero, parte de las quejas de Vidal es que su falta de lograr ese bono fue debido a que era víctima de una reducción de tiempo de jugar. Por eso, el caso probablemente llegará al litigio.

Este titular, sumado a los demás que han definido la temporada de Barcelona, parecía que más dañaría a un equipo tan frágil como este grupo corriente que todavía está luchando contra Real Madrid por la primera posición en la clasificación. Mientras que cosas han sido inestables, la situación de Vidal no ha causado mucho alboroto. De hecho, antes su despido, Valverde proclamó a los medios que la demanda no afectará el estatus de Vidal. Además, el nuevo entrenador del club catalana, Quique Setién, pareció respaldar las palabras de Valverde dado que Vidal empezó solo su quinto partido de la temporada esta semana pasada.

La importancia de todo esto es que las otras primas en el contrato de Vidal depende de si o no él juegue. Por su parte, el chileno ha revelado que si no juega más, va a exigir que el club le cambie. Por supuesto, como estamos en la temporada de traslados, había rumores de que Barca podía cambiar a Vidal para mejorar otra posición. Sin embargo, la decisión de Sentién de comenzar el partido con Vidal puede indicar que el club prefiere retener los servicios del mediocampista. Si esto es caso de verdad, queda por ver.

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Updates on Arturo Vidal’s Lawsuit against F.C. Barcelona

There has been much to talk about Barcelona in recent days. Between the firing of ex-coach, Ernesto Valverde, the shaky performance of the team up to this point in the season, and the rumors of potential trades to fill the vacancies left by injured forwards, Luis Suarez and Ousmane Demebele, there is no shortage of storylines to follow. However, one of the most interesting, yet least mentioned deals with the veteran midfielder Arturo Vidal.

The Chilean is in the middle of his second season with the Catalan club after signing a three-year, €18 million contract. The contract also included some bonus that would bring the total up by three-million euros, the majority of which through playing-time incentives. But, Vidal says that Barcelona owes him €2.4 million. Accordingly, Vidal’s lawyers presented the club with a claim to be heard by the Association of Spanish Football Players (AFE) at the end of last year.

According to the newspaper Sport, there are some clauses in the contract that would have given a bonus if Vidal played in at least 60% of games. However, give that he did not do so, the team is wary to accept Vidal’s claims because it would set a bad precedent of which other players would likely take advantage. But, part of Vidal’s complaints is that his failure to reach these bonus incentives was due to the fact that he fell victim to a reduction in playing time. Because of this, the case will likely reach litigation.

This headline, along with the others that have defined Barcelona’s season, figured to further hurt such a fragile team as this current group which is still battling Real Madrid for the top spot in the standings. While things have been unstable, Vidal’s situation hasn’t added much to the stir. In fact, before his firing, Valverde declared to the media that the lawsuit wouldn’t affect Vidal’s playing status. Moreover, the new coach of the Catalan club Quique Setién seemed to back Valverde’s words given that Vidal started only his fifth game of the season this past week.

The importance of all of this is that other bonuses in Vidal’s contract depend on whether or not he plays. For his part, the Chilean revealed that if he doesn’t play more, he is going to demand a trade. Of course, as we are in the transfer season, there have been rumors that Barcelona could trade Vidal to upgrade at another position. However, Setién’s decision to start Vidal may indicate that the club prefer to retain the services of the midfielder. If this is truly the case, remains to be seen.

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WNBA & WNBPA to announce new CBA this week

Facing the looming October 31st deadline of a new collective bargaining agreement, the WNBA and WNBPA agreed to extend the current CBA 60 more days. The new CBA is expected to be announced this week on the 15th and will carry significant changes, most importantly one that deals with the WNBA’s most contentious issue, player salary.  Revenue sharing is one of the principle reasons that the WNBPA chose to opt out of the previous CBA in 2018. The new agreement will go into effect immediately as teams adjust to the new regulations in preparation for the start of free agency which begins on February first. So, what exactly does this new CBA mean for the short-term future of the WNBA?

The central issue revolves around the pay and respect WNBA players rightfully feel is long overdue. Many players, even stars such as Brittney Griner, go overseas to earn fair compensation immediately after the conclusion of the WNBA season. In fact, this very problem caused the Washington Mystics to cancel their championship parade last season because so many players had already committed to play for international clubs.

However, the salary problem is only half the issue as the lack of respect WNBA players are afforded is equally troubling. Last season, the WNBA refused to give first-class plane tickets to those playing in the All Star Game and poor travel conditions were responsible for the forfeiture of a game by the Las Vegas Aces who missed the playoffs by one game. These disappointing WNBA norms have some reminiscing about the glory days of women’s college basketball where they routinely fly private and never face game cancellations.

Of course, both of these problems rely on the WNBA’s revenue which in and of itself is a whole other conversation. According to Forbes, the WNBA and its teams are not required to share their financials and have made no effort to do so. Moreover, they claim that the WNBA loses $10 million each year leaving little flexibility for increases in player salaries and job benefits. However, one study estimated that the WNBA’s revenue has grown to $60 million since the last CBA and figured that the league shares about 20% of its revenue with the players, whereas the NBA splits its revenue 50/50 with its own.

In either event, it is clear that the lack of transparency should be the definitive starting point in navigating this disparity; accordingly the new CBA should redistribute a much more fair percentage of the revenue the league generates. Moreover, the league should also see this as a good thing for a few reasons beyond just ethics.

The first is that several of the leagues best players are unrestricted free agents meaning they can sign with any team when free agency opens in a couple weeks. Among this group are stars such as Elena Delle Donne (2nd in points per game last year with 19.5), Courtney Vandersloot (1st in assists per game with 9.1) and Jonquel Jones (1st in rebounds per game with 9.7). Besides filling up box scores, these players are the faces of the league. In a similar way that NBA players dominate offseason headlines with record contracts, the WNBA and WNBPA can benefit from endorsing and sensationalizing the players with their own record salary agreements.

On top of this free marketing, the NBA and WNBA are teaming up with media networks to step up their WNBA promotion efforts. Similar to the NBA, the WNBA gained another revenue stream with the addition of jersey sponsors, and A’ja Wilson’s 2018 endorsement agreement with Mountain Dew represents a step in the right direction. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and WNBA Commissioner Lisa Borders have been outspoken about improving the marketing of the league, and just last year the WNBA announced a partnership with Sylvain Labs for a long-term growth strategy.

These are both encouraging signs for the WNBA as it prepares to pave the next generation of interest in women’s professional basketball. However, the best opportunity for the WNBA’s big break may not arrive until close to 2030, when Kobe Bryant’s 13 year old daughter, Gigi, becomes eligible to sign a professional contract. Despite the young age of “Mambacita,” as many are already calling her, she receives just as much, if not more, media coverage than any WNBA player does. I mean, just check out her highlights and you can see that she’s on the fast-track to the league. Given her talents and notoriety as Kobe Bryant’s prodigy, it is not hard to imagine that Gigi Bryant’s impact could drive the WNBA’s popularity just as Lebron James did as coming out of high school as the future face of the NBA. However, until that dream becomes a reality, the WNBA would be best served by prioritizing the pay and respect of its players, and hopefully, the announcement of a new CBA this week reflects exactly that.

 

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NFLPA’s consequential victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars prompts Tom Coughlin’s firing

The holiday season came early for linebacker Dante Fowler Jr. this year as he had  $700,000 in fines rescinded on behalf of the NFL Player’s Association. Those fines were issued by Fowler’s former team, the Jacksonville Jaguars, which has traded away back-to-back top-five draft picks in Fowler (#3 overall in 2015) and star cornerback Jalen Ramsey (#5 overall in 2016). Both ex-Jaguars now play for the Los Angeles Rams and have had choice words about their time in northern Florida; as for the source of their resentment, the team’s former Executive Vice President, Tom Coughlin, is the overwhelming culprit.

Fowler’s case was brought to the NFLPA’s attention when the Jaguars asserted that the Florida native had missed 25 mandatory appointments with a team trainer last season, resulting in the aforementioned fines. However, because the appointments were made during the offseason, they were in violation of the CBA which clearly states (Article 4 section 9f), “salary may not be subject to forfeiture for missing voluntary offseason programs or voluntary minicamps…” The NFLPA also released a statement saying as much and added that the Jaguars had recently decided that they would require all injured players to get their offseason rehab at the Jaguars’ facility, however this policy did not render those rehab programs mandatory.

For his part, Fowler was rightfully animated over the news of his exoneration and let the world know on Twitter, and as it turns out he is far from the only ex-Jaguar to take issue with his former team. Jalen Ramsey, the only First-Team-All-Pro Jaguar in over a decade,   loudly griped his way out of Jacksonville over similar frustrations with management, specifically Tom Coughlin, who was responsible for the fines handed down to Fowler. However, more interestingly, since the club’s 2017 AFC Championship run, more than 25% of player grievances have been filed against the Jaguars.

As for Jacksonville, while their sudden fall from the NFL canopy has been ugly, their reputation around the league has become even uglier. For one, the decision to trade two franchise players in Fowler and Ramsey has left a bad taste in the mouths of their teammates, especially given the public nature in which it unfolded. Ramsey was instrumental to that 2017 run and Fowler would lead the Jags in sacks if he were still on the team. However, though team owner Shad Kahn took steps this week to mitigate these disasters by firing Tom Coughlin, there is still widespread distrust toward the club that could hamper Jacksonville’s attractiveness in free agency.

In the wake of its victory against the Jaguars, the NFLPA sent a letter out to every player in the league notifying them of Fowler’s case and warning them of potentially signing with the team. The statement said that players, “continue to be at odds with Jaguars management over their rights under the CBA far more than any other clubs.” For the second year in a row, the team failed to win more than six games and figure to be in an even tougher spot for the upcoming season. As it stands now, the Jaguars have the third-lowest cap space to operate with for the pending offseason and have many holes to fill. Time will tell just how far back Coughlin’s policies have set the Jaguars’ timeline to contending again and how players around the league will view Jacksonville as a potential landing spot this offseason.

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Jacoby Ellsbury & MLBPA vs. New York Yankees

This week the MLB Players’ Association filed a grievance against the New York Yankees on behalf of the team’s former center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury in an attempt to recoup the remaining $26 million that he argues is owed to him. After winning the World Series with the Red Sox in 2013, Ellsbury signed a seven year, $153 million contract with the Yankees, however went on to miss a staggering 452 games between 2014-2019. For reference, in that same time frame the Yankees played 972 games (excluding playoffs), meaning the speedy outfielder appeared in just over 53% of those contests. If that wasn’t already hard enough to stomach, according to Fangraphs, Ellsbury registered a wRC+ (explanation below)* of 96 as a New York Yankee, so he was roughly 4% worse than league average.

While it is impossible to understate how disappointing Ellsbury’s tenure in the Big Apple was, his contract, like the vast majority of MLB contracts, was fully guaranteed therefore the $153 million was never contingent upon performance or even playing for that matter. However, the Yankees allege that the former silver slugger violated his contract by receiving unauthorized medical treatment which allowed them to convert his contract to “non-guaranteed” and then subsequently release him.

According to the Yankees, the 36-year-old was treated for an injury by Dr. Viktor Bouquette in Atlanta without the team’s consent, yet Ellsbury argues that the treatment was for a non-baseball-related injury, which does not require permission. The CBA essentially states that as long as the “Non-Work-Related Injury does not affect the Player’s ability to provide services,” then the player is exempt from disclosing treatment procedures. However, seeing as Ellsbury had not played a game since the end of 2017, which coincidentally is around the same time it is alleged that he started seeing Dr. Bouquette, it will be tough for the MLBPA to prove that there is no link between the two.

Though Ellsbury’s medical records are protected under medical privacy, if there is truly no causal connection between his NWR injury and the right oblique strain that was the first of his slew of 2018 injuries, then he and the MLBPA could and should release those medicals to prove that they are wholly unrelated.

There is a lot at stake for both sides in this case that will be heard by arbitrator Mark Irvings, who will be making a significant ruling next month in another dispute between player and club. For the Yankees, after the historic Gerrit Cole signing, their 2020 payroll ballooned to $243 million, which carries a significant luxury tax. The tax threshold (number at which team’s must pay extra for every dollar over) for next season is $208 million. The Yankees will pay 30% on ever dollar between $208 million and $228 million, 42% between $228-$248 million, and 75% beyond $248 million. So, the Yankees would stand to gain substantially if they lower that figure from $243 million, which would represent $12.3 million in taxes, to $217 million, which would only tax them $2.7 million.

As for Ellsbury, he is still rehabbing but is looking more like a liability than an asset so this $26 million could represent the last paycheck of his player career. However, for the MLBPA it goes a bit deeper as this case could set a meaningful precedent. It brings to mind a 2010 dispute between Carlos Beltran and the New York Mets over a similar issue that never reached litigation. In any case, the verdict in this conflict between the MLBPA and the Yankees could either be the final insult for foolish free-agent spenders or a sign to those same regretful investors that there are in fact legal ways to wriggle their way out of those abominable contracts.

*wRC+ means weighted Runs Created adjusted. This statistic is meant take external factors (such as ballpark or era) into account to paint a picture of a player’s overall value to any given MLB team. 100 represents league average, so a player with a wRC+ of 150 means that player is 50% better than league average and vice versa. wRC+ is widely regarded as one of the best indicators of a player’s true value.

Oliver GreenLeave a comment