A New Front in MLB’s Labor War?

Most of the baseball punditocracy have expressed approval of the new CBA. Sure, some wanted stronger testing for performance enhancers that there are not tests for, or a more stringent Yankee…errrr…luxury tax. But on the whole, the predominant feeling is relief that both sides managed to reach an agreement without even the threat of a labor stoppage (either a strike or a lockout).

However, Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan casts a dark shadow on the good times. He found an obscure clause in the agreement that will cause him and his cohort some discomfort:

Clubhouses close to reporters an hour before the start of each game instead of 45 minutes. This became a collectively bargained issue because of players’ complaints about too much access for reporters, who contend that the 3½ hours of pregame face time with the players has made baseball writing the richest of all sports. With the new precedent set, journalists fear what other access limitations will be imposed or bargained in the future.

Heavens! Such draconian limitations on clubhouse access mean that reporters won’t be able to get as many sound bites from the players! How are the reporters supposed to do their jobs if they can’t get those sound bites?

No wonder Passan is worried. Clubhouse access is the one thing your baseball media cares about. If they can’t get enough player quotes to fill a column (or a game story), they might have to resort to actually watching the game on the field and writing something intelligent about what happened and why. And that’s just too darned hard to do.