World Series Home Field Advantage: Why Must It Be Negotiated?

Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports today that Major League Baseball has not reached an agreement with the players union that will reward the All-Star Game winner with home-field advantage in the World Series ("Status of All-Star Game still unsure").

The All-Star Game format was changed in 2003 after the previous year's All-Star Game that ended in a 7-7 tie when both teams ran out of pitchers. At that time, MLB and the union negotiated a two-year deal and extended the agreement last year. So now MLB and the union have no agreement in place, but Commissioner Bud Selig said he is optimistic an agreement will soon be reached to retain the 3-year-old format: "We're still hopeful because I think it's really good for the game. Everyone likes it. The owners. The players. The sponsors. It just adds a lot of meaning." MLB executive vice president Rob Manfred, like Selig, is "hopeful" they will have an agreement with the union: "I think originally we had hoped that we would have sort of a permanent resolution to this issue. Time has become pressing because we're getting closer to the game. We decided to focus on a one-year agreement and hopefully have a multiyear done with the next (labor) agreement."

However, according to union head Don Fehr: "We're still talking to them, so we'll see. It's something that has to be negotiated."

I wonder what Fehr means by saying that "it's something that has to be negotiated"? Why must it be negotiated? Why doesn't MLB just tell the union that the All-Star Game is going to dictate home-field advantage for the World Series? The National Labor Relations Act requires an employer to negotiate "mandatory subjects" with the union. The NLRA defines mandatory subjects as those dealing with "wages, hours and working conditions". For once I'd like to see MLB stand up to the union and say that home-field advantage for the World Series is not a mandatory subject, and, thus, there's no negotiation.

In case you're wondering why maybe the MLBPA is the strongest union in professional sports....

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