Rob Manfred: 'We Owe It to Our Fans to Be Better' After MLB Restart Negotiations

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred vowed improvement Wednesday after a series of failed negotiations with the Players Association created tension between the sides and initially pushed the fate of the 2020 season into a realm of uncertainty. 

Manfred discussed the situation with Ronald Blum of the Associated Press after finalizing details of a 60-game regular season delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.

"We need to get back on the field, and we need to in a less-charged environment start to have conversations about how we—and the we in that sentence is the commissioner's office, my staff, the clubs and the MLBPA and the players—can be better going forward," he said. "We owe it to our fans to be better than we've been the last three months."

The tense negotiations caused a major rift between the sides. Players wanted to schedule as many games as possible with full prorated pay, while owners wanted to limit their financial investment amid uncertainty about losses associated with no fans being in attendance at games.

Manfred confirmed to Blum the season, which is slated to begin either July 23 or 24, is going to start without fans in attendance, regardless of the COVID-19 situation in each team's home area.

"I think we need to get on the ground running and get comfortable that we can play games in empty stadiums safely before we move forward fans," he said. "My patience in that regard is in part based on the fact that there are so many different situations. Some places there looks like there's no prospect, other places they're more aggressive."

Most of the proposals made by each group were immediately shot down by the other side, raising questions about whether the frustration from these talks could have a lasting impact on future deals.

MLBPA executive director Tony Clark said the union's stance the entire time was "a day's wage for a day's worth of work," and he hoped there wouldn't be any lingering effect from the situation, per Blum.

"I think there is an opportunity to move forward, move our game forward," he said. "And as it relates to the atmosphere in general, the lines of communication remain open, and we’ll count that as a positive in the days ahead."

Meanwhile, Manfred noted choices were still being made about how to handle a season that will be television-centric, including the potential use of artificial crowd noise like soccer leagues in Europe.

"We're still making decisions about that," he told the AP. "I like what they've done in England and Germany because I think it's innovative, and I think that the current situation calls for us to try some things that are different."

Players are expected to report by July 1 to restart Spring Training activities, which were halted March 12. Along with the shortened schedule, there are a series of changes being implemented, led by larger initial rosters, using the DH in the National League and a special COVID-19 injured list.

The playoffs will retain their original format with five teams from each league (three division winners and two wild-card teams) qualifying for the 2020 postseason.