Alex Rodriguez, Highest-Paid Player in History, Begs MLB and MLBPA to Reach Agreement to Save Season

Despite his failed bid to purchase the Mets, Alex Rodriguez's most recent comments about the 2020 season are more aligned with the owners than the players.

In a video posted to Twitter, Rodriguez addressed the current revenue dispute between players and owners as the two parties try and figure out a way to start the season after the coronavirus pandemic suspended play indefinitely on March 12.

"Players want to play. Fans want to watch," he said. "And at the end of the day, if you don't play today, you don't win tomorrow, because hopefully, we don't have another situation like this. 

"This is like beyond anything we've ever seen before. I just urge the players and owners to think collectively. If there's $100 in the pie, like the NBA, players take $50, owners take $50. And we give it to the fans. We thank the fans of baseball."

MLB owners approved a proposal on Monday to split the revenue 50/50 with players if the season takes place this summer. However, the MLBPA is expected to reject the proposal, countering with a previous March agreement that would simply prorate player's salaries based on the number of games played. 

Rodriguez's financial situation is much different than most of the players whose salaries would be curbed if the players' union agreed to the proposal. During his 20-year career, Rodriguez made $455 million, more than any player in league history. 

Most of what he made during his career came in large part because of the system in place that the players are now trying to preserve. The union opposes the league's proposal because it is a form of a salary-cap, which the players have long fought hard against.

"It is the people’s comfort food and people are starving," Rodriguez added in the video. "And I just don't want to see this great game—people fighting, billionaires fighting with millionaires. This has nothing to do with the past. This has nothing to do with the [1994] strike. This is actually when the owners and players are aligned and we want the same thing. We want to save baseball. We want to play baseball."

The financial disagreement appears to be the greatest hurdle for the league and players to overcome before they can get back on the field, barring any flare up with the virus. Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci reported earlier this week MLB's plan to test regularly all players, coaches, umpires and other essential staff and workers. And Saturday morning, the league sent the union a 67-page proposal outlining the protocols that would be implemented if and when baseball returned, according to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich. 

Rays starting pitcher Blake Snell has already expressed his displeasure with the proposal, saying he won't play under such the proposed financial structure. Stars Bryce Harper and Nolan Arenado quickly came to his defense to support his stance on resuming play.