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Evan & Tiki

Players vs Owners: The Wild Plan to Save Baseball During a Lockout

Evan & Tiki

Audacy

Sports

4.2988 Ratings

🗓️ 17 March 2026

⏱️ 16 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

What happens if baseball disappears overnight? In this episode, the conversation dives into a bold and unconventional idea: MLB players creating their own international tournament during a lockout. With fans starved for the game and streaming platforms hungry for content, the hosts explore whether a player-driven league could actually work—and what it would take to pull it off. From legal battles with team owners to the logistical chaos of organizing teams, venues, and broadcast deals, the discussion weighs both the massive challenges and surprising opportunities. Along the way, they examine past lockout-era ideas, debate fan interest, and consider whether this kind of “fight fire with fire” strategy could shift the balance of power in baseball.

Transcript

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0:00.0

This has to be done now, and this has to be start to prepared for now, but just walk me through how this wouldn't be successful.

0:06.3

Now, you're right. It's a logistical nightmare. It's going to take a lot.

0:09.1

You got to get a network on board or a streaming service on board.

0:12.2

You may have legal fees because there's a chance the owners could sue your asses.

0:15.3

But could you guys imagine in April the baseball players formulating their own international teams touring the country,

0:23.8

no pitch restrictions, because God knows if there'll be a season, and these guys are competing

0:28.1

for their flags, bro, this would be off the charts.

0:31.4

But this would be off the charts.

0:34.7

So is this a tournament or is this is this is this is this

0:38.0

Harlem Globetrotter Savannah Bananas yes it would be a tournament the problem is because you don't know how long the lockout's going to be yes you don't know how extensive the tournament should be

0:50.9

right you don't know how it's ending but I would formulate it very similar to the World Baseball Classic and then if it ends

0:56.3

and it's successful, do another one.

0:58.2

Keep going until the owners either break or until, really until the owners break.

1:04.0

Right.

1:05.0

But baseball players have an opportunity and again, there are some legal hurdles here because

1:08.8

I think the owners have a right to sue and say they're legally not allowed. You're under contract. But my counter is, you're locking us out. Yeah, but you're, I mean, yeah, don't the contracts kind of like sit still? I think so. And remember about a month ago, we had Evan Dreleck. Evan, oh my God. Evan, Drelick on from the Athletic.

1:28.3

Yes.

1:28.6

And I brought up to him another unpopular idea to say, hey, could the owners impose

1:32.4

replacement players?

1:34.1

And he said, they could, but it would start a war.

1:37.1

Okay.

1:37.9

Let's start a war.

...

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