June 23rd, 2020 at 8:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka The players said: No we won’t
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said: Yes you will.
If COVID-19 could talk, it would say: We’ll see about that.
On Monday afternoon, the MLB Players Association resoundingly rejected MLB commissioner Rob Manfred’s final offer to resume play under a 60-game schedule by a vote of 33-5.
On Monday evening and as expected, Manfred imposed a 60-game schedule on the MLBPA under the authority granted to him in a March 26 Collective Bargaining Agreement with the union.
(Photo courtesy of Sports Illustrated)
By Monday night, the L.A. County Department of Public Health reported 2,571 new cases of the coronavirus in L.A. County alone – the highest one-day spike since the beginning of the outbreak – bringing the total number of cases to 85,942 with 18 new COVID-19-related deaths, which now stands at 3,137.
What wasn’t reported on Monday and (as of this writing) has yet to be agreed upon by the union are health and safety protocols in Manfred’s mandated plan, although one is expected within a day or two.
One of the primary concerns of Manfred’s plan is whether or not players, coaches, and other staff members who are on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC’s) COVID-19 high-risk list can opt-out of the agreement to play.
Who might this include on the Dodgers current 40-man roster, you ask? How about players with new babies at home, like future Hall of Fame left-hander Clayton Kershaw and wife Ellen and right-hander Joe Kelly and wife Ashley (with twins), All-Star Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen, who has a preexisting heart condition, or perhaps even players who become free agents after the Manfred-imposed abbreviated 2020 season who may not want to risk injury with likely huge free-agent contracts pending, such as Future Hall of Fame outfielder Mookie Betts, who has yet to appear in even one regular-season game as a Dodger.
Worthy of mention is that not every MLB player is thrilled about playing under the conditions in Manfred’s imposed plan, especially with new coronavirus virus cases increasing by the hour from coast-to-coast, with no vaccine in sight.
Keep in mind that when (if) the 2020 MLB season actually begins, there will be no fans in the stands regardless of where teams play.
…that is if the coronavirus allows it to begin.
Play Ball – maybe!
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Posted in 
@Dodgers If baseball does return, I don’t mind watching without fans in the stands. I understand some… https://t.co/ELI4YUWiHJ
Exactly how I (hope to) see it.
Trevor Bauer makes sense! The game needs players like him and Ross Stripling to move into leadership roles after they finish their playing careers.