Stunning revelation shows Detroit Tigers’ Christopher Ilitch doesn’t care about baseball

LAKELAND, Fla. — Maybe, we should boycott Little Caesars for a few weeks.

Or at least until the Detroit Tigers start playing baseball again.

That might send the right kind of message.

Or maybe, we should boycott MotorCity Casino and the Detroit Red Wings, too.

How would that feel, Christopher Ilitch, as someone whose family owns all of them?

It’s nothing personal.

Just business.

A calculated move by fans to let you feel the pain they are feeling because Opening Day is in limbo.

Because I’m putting some of the blame for this whole MLB mess on your shoulders, Ilitch. Not all of it. But some of it.

Because we just found out Ilitch was one of four Major League Baseball owners who objected to raising the competitive balance tax in the final offer to players, according to Evan Drellich of The Athletic.

That is the main sticking point in this labor disagreement.

In essence, Ilitch and the rest of these hard-line owners are willing to sit out as long as possible to put pressure on the players and keep the luxury tax low, and hence, salaries down across MLB.

This is a massive public relations hit for the Tigers and Ilitch.

Suddenly, Ilitch has become a poster boy for this whole mess: one of the owners who killed Opening Day.

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I requested the Tigers to confirm or deny the report and I was told they would get back to me.

Still waiting.

I requested an interview with Ilitch because fans deserve to hear from him to try to understand his logic, because they are the ones who support this game, watching games on TV and buying tickets and jerseys. But I haven’t heard back.

Members of the Tigers front office and coaching staff were at the intrasquad scrimmage on Friday but they cannot talk to the media because of MLB rules regarding the lockout.

Why? No idea. It makes no sense.

Then again, nothing about this does.

Money talks, but what about Ilitch?

Am I missing some nuance? Is the report being taken out of context? Or is it inaccurate?

I would love to know.

The negotiating process was a complex situation with proposals and counter proposals, and it involved several issues.

But this was the big sticking point: The players wanted the tax at $238 million this year (incrementally increasing to $263 million by 2026). The owners’ latest offer — reportedly not supported by the Tigers, Diamondbacks, Reds and Angels — was at $220 million for 2022-24, reaching $230 million by 2026.

That’s the main reason baseball shut down.

In my opinion, that was the plan all along. Clearly, this whole situation is a calculated business decision by the owners. They are willing to shut down baseball now and into April, so the players will miss a couple of paychecks (they are paid every two weeks during the season), hoping they will cave and take a lesser deal.

In Detroit, April is a horrible month for baseball. Sure, Ilitch is losing revenue by not having fans come through the turnstiles and not buying overpriced beer.

But he’s saving a ton by not having to shell out money for salaries — the Tigers current have a $103,500,000 payroll for 2022.

It’s a wash for him. It’s not going to hurt his bottom line until he starts losing significant TV money.

So in my opinion, Ilitch and the other hard-liners have decided to take that hit to try to squeeze the players as much as possible.

To hell with Opening Day.

It’s just business.

This report sends a horrible message, not only to Tigers fans but to your players and your new coaching staff.

Basically, you have told every player in your organization, every potential free agent, that you are going to be as cheap as possible.

MLB and the players had months to try to figure this out.

But dragged their feet.

Which is sickening.

And now, Ilitch becomes one of the leaders of the opposition.

One of the cheap-ohs.

But Christopher, you have to realize something; the damage is mounting.

Your players are in a horrible limbo.

Your prized prospects — Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson — are not being coached by manager AJ Hinch and his staff.

Your injured players are not under the constant watch of your medical people.

Your fans are disgusted.

You have sucked the life out of this sport.

You are unable to build any momentum for this season.

And when the season does resume, if there is any kind of shortened spring training, you have increased the risk of injury to all of them.

Even their meal money?

But you can save face.

Reverse course. Urge the other owners to settle this. Get the negotiations back at full force. Figure out a way. And save this season.

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The Athletic also reported: “One of the league’s efforts that irked the players was a proposal to incorporate meal money and the stipends players receive into the luxury-tax calculations. MLB, in other words, wanted to count the amount of money players receive for food against the amount of money teams can spend before they are taxed.”

I mean, seriously?

You went after their meal money?

That’s how petty we are getting with this?

The luxury tax is basically a salary cap. But even if the luxury tax rises, it doesn’t mean you have to spend that much. Only two teams went over the $210 million threshold in 2021 — the Dodgers and Padres.

You don’t have to spend all that money. Your model will still work.

You are trying to build your organization through the draft, develop players and fill in holes with free agents. You have started to spend, and that should be commended. The model makes sense to me.

Lower payroll teams can win in MLB.

Will salaries rise if the tax goes up? Yes.

But that only seems fair. Player salaries have shrunk for the last four years, according to the Associated Press. And that’s messed up, in a sport where the revenues are only increasing.

If this season continues to be delay, Mr. Ilitch, you will represent the reason why.

It’s good to know where everybody stands.

But here’s the thing you can’t forget: You are lucky to be part of this game.

Lucky to own a team.

This is bigger than a business. It should be treated like a treasure. Not an ATM machine.

Is it worth it to you, to lose your fans and your players and tarnish this organization?

What in the world would your dad think about that?

Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @seideljeff. To read his recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel.

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