Tom Glavine Is "100%" Terrified of Another Work Stoppage and Seattle Fans Can't Handle It

Alright, M's faithful, buckle up, because as if losing 5-3 to the Orioles tonight wasn't enough to sting, we've got some potentially season-wrecking news from a Hall of Famer. Forget the early season grind, the injuries, or even the bullpen woes for a second. We're talking about the whole dang game going dark. Tom Glavine, the dude who won 305 games in his career, is "100%" concerned that MLB and the Players Association are headed for a work stoppage that could just absolutely crater our season, much like 1994. And honestly, after tonight's loss, my blood pressure is already too high for this kind of drama.

The Ghost of '94 Haunts MLB

Glavine knows this pain firsthand. He was right there in the thick of it, catching scorn from fans as an executive subcommittee member for the MLB Players Association during that brutal 232-day strike. That nightmare canceled the 1994 World Series, remember? It was ugly, and he told ESPN he's seeing the same dark clouds gathering. The current collective bargaining agreement is set to expire on December 1st, and the league is pushing hard for a salary cap system. This isn't just a minor tweak, folks. This is a fundamental overhaul, something they last tried to push back in '94. They're citing "competitive balance" again, saying revenue disparity is unsustainable. It's the same song and dance Glavine heard three decades ago.

Players vs. Owners: The Same Old Fight

Glavine, who spent 22 years with the Braves and Mets, gets the concerns about the payroll gap between the big spenders and the rest of the league. But he’s adam

Trade on Every Game with Kalshi

Click Here to sign up to Kalshi — Free $10 when you sign up using our link or use code: ONTAPSEA. The only federally regulated prediction market in the US. Trade on real sports outcomes. Available in all 50 states.

ant that a salary cap isn't the fix. "I get the concerns over the disparity," he said, "but I don't know that those concerns are any different, really, when you get down to the basics of what they were in '94, because I feel like we argued about the same things." Commissioner Rob Manfred, who was a league lawyer during the '94-'95 lockout, echoed Glavine's fears on June 3rd, saying "Of course I do" when asked if he worries about a repeat. The league's initial proposal included a $245.3 million ceiling and a $171.2 million floor. But players, including Glavine and fellow star David Cone back in the day, have always viewed a cap as a way for owners to control themselves, not a solution for player freedom. As Glavine put it, "Our feeling has always been, 'Listen, nobody's telling you what you have to pay us, nobody's demanding what you have to pay us. You pay us what you want to pay us, you know? And if you don't want to pay us, then we'll go to another team and find another team that's maybe willing to pay us.'" He’s right, more restrictions on team spending means less freedom for players, and that just feels wrong. This is a gut punch, right? We're all just trying to enjoy our Mariners fighting through the early season, hoping Julio Rodriguez finds his power stroke, and cheering on Cal Raleigh's dingers. The last thing any of us in the Emerald City need is for the whole damn league to grind to a halt because the owners and players can't get on the same page. Let's hope for cooler heads to prevail, because nobody wants a repeat of '94, especially not the 12s. We’ll be watching closely as details emerge from their meeting this week, hoping they can avoid another disaster.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.