MLB has tried for years. The unwritten rules, embarrassing front office mishaps,

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MLB has tried for years. The unwritten rules, embarra sing front office mishaps, free agency or anaversion topromotingits stars. Kole Calhoun Jersey I've fought through it.But on Monday, they did the impo sible. MLB leftme feeling embarra sed to be a baseball fan.Rob Manfred's from being "100 percent certain" there will be baseballin 2020 to his "not confident" comments Monday opened my eyes. To make matters worse, Manfred's quote came after players all over the Twittersphere started using the "When and Where" hashtag to simply ask owners, well, when and where they're playing in 2020.Unfortunately,Manfred andthe league's owners apparently are thinking twice about a season, if Monday's drama is any indication. I mean, after all, owning a baseball team is a losing-money proposition, apparently.It would have been one thing had the players and owners disagreed on health and safety protocols heading into the season, or MLB decided it was simply too unsafe to play games in the middle of a pandemic (things that are still true). But that three-word "When and Where" rallying crychanged it all.We're in the middle of a global pandemic. Coronavirus cases are spiking around the country.Civil unrest is raging around the U.S.as Americans mourn the unjust deaths of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd. Black Lives Matter movements are creating action and giving voices to the voicele s. Simply put, it seems petulant and egocentric to beg for the return of baseball when there are matters much more serious than tape-measure homers Matt Szczur Jersey and nasty breaking balls.MORE:It's selfish and irresponsible to beg for sports to come back, to entertain us, to distract us, togive us something to discu sorto debate in this climate.Baseball doesn't need to exist in 2020, and the players and the sport don't owe us anything.But there was still a sliver of selfish hope:Had MLB taken the stage in July and been the first major U.S. sports league back in the wake of a devastating global pandemic, the players would be viewed as superheroes andsaviors.It's Sammy Sosa running out on the Wrigley Field outfield with the American flag after 9/11 or Mike Piazza hitting a home run that was a cathartic release for many. It's MLB continuing during World War II atthe urgings of FDR.No matter when, where or what, baseball has seemingly always been there for people in times of need. It's fought through terrorist attacks on the country and wars spanning continents. Butgreed could take it down in 2020. Because of this, baseball has made it impo sible to defend.The beauty of the hardball is still awe-inspiring. Ask any rational baseball fan.One of the main goals is to share the sport globally, to new audiences. Any baseball head will be more than willing to explain their love and hate ofthe game to you to help you understand.But when you have billionaire owners who would much rather sacrifice a seasonto prove a point, to out-muscle players and crush the MLBPA, how do you defend it?When the Rob Refsnyder Jersey suffocating small markets and cutting off rural areas from good, home-grown baseball, how do you build a case?Folks, I'm tired. I'm tired of having to explain to people why I love baseball. Why I love the drama, the pageantry, the evolution.I'm tired of seeing owners chase the bottom line over the health and future of the game. That's not a new thing. It's just more apparent then ever. It's exposed like a nerve for all to see, and the fans and players are the victims here.I'm tired of reaching for defenses of MLB now. I still love baseball, and I probably always will. But to love something is to not be afraid to critique it to want to make it better.MORE:Maybe it's time for a baseball reckoning. Maybe it's time for all the skeletons to come out of the closet, so that the owners who chase the dollar can wake up and see this isn't just about prorated salaries. It's about something bigger. It's about the players and the fans.Maybe the owners need to wake up and realize theydon't throw 95 with a nasty slider.Max Scherzer does. The owners don't hit 400-foot blasts. Aaron Judge does.MLB owners have made it clear that their goal is to play as few games as po sible, and potentially even nuke the 2020 season should it get to that point.Just look at how other sports have approached this while MLB is spinning its wheels. The NBA is debating whether or not to put on a season in the midst of racial injustices, but commi sioner Adam Silver has been equal parts employee of the owners and diplomat in negotiations to return. There's a reason why Silver and the NBA are viewed asgold standards among pro sports leagues they understand theirplayers are the most prized product.Saying "product" seems harsh in a way. It's not meantto diminish the players as individuals, as athletes with voices: just to point that there seems to be a very simple understanding in the NBA that without the players, you've got nothing.Even the NHL, the distant fourth-place sport in the U.S., . It is on track to be the first major profe sional sports league to return to play, allwhile MLBowners are still quibbling over percentages and paycuts among its players.Does the country need baseball in 2020? Of course not. It would Patrick Corbin Jersey be justifiable should coronavirus continue to spread that the logistics of an MLB season just do not align with reasonable expectations.MORE:There's a simplereason why the start of this season is so tremendously frustrating and it's because the answers are tremendously simple: open the books, give the players their full, proratedsalaries and let's get this party started.Unfortunately,MLB owners in pursuit of the dollar sign, and now more owners are crying poor and likely want no season because of it.Just a reminder:The players Ketel Marte Jersey and the most games po sible.The owners for playersand as few games played as po sible.Makes sense.To that end, it also makes so much sense that players are seeing straight through the ruse. Reds pitcher Trevor Bauer Trevor Bauerhas become the voice of reason here, peopledetailed as much after Manfred revealed his apprehension as to whether or not a season will get underway on Monday night.So, Rob, explain to us how you can be 100% sure that theres going to be baseball but not confident there will be baseball at the same time? hmmm. What changed between those statements Players told you to set the season, but its too early to set the season right now, Trevor Bauer (@BauerOutage) Saying "the future of baseball is at stake" is slightly hyperbolic. Fans will come back, they always do. It might take a while, but something will happen to bring them back.Though attendance numbers have dipped over the last four years, the 2020 season was rife with storylines that could have made this the best season in years: the fallout from the Astros sign-stealing scandals, tight division races, pot