The Best Reactions as New York, MLB Players Sound Off on League

The game of baseball is at a crossroads right now.

Yesterday, Major League Baseball set a self-imposed deadline of 5 P.M. EST, signaling to the MLB Players' Association that the league would be presenting their "best-and-final" Collective Bargaining Agreement offer by that time.

Moments before 4PM, the league submitted its offer, and in the blink of an eye, the players voted unanimously to decline the offer presented to them. After the players declined, league commissioner Rob Manfred took the stage in front of a smattering of reporters, and millions of viewers, and told baseball fans that the league would be cancelling Opening Day, as well as the first two series of the season.

And then, while answering questions, he smiled. Right on camera. For everyone to see.

Baseball's commissioner smiling while games are being cancelled / Getty Images

As a sport, Major League Baseball is already bleeding. Interest is down, attendance is down, and television ratings are down, as well. As Newsday's David Lennon told us last week, the league did see a bit of an uptick in attention during the World Series, and during a very chaotic free agency period before the lockout was imposed.

Then, after waiting multiple weeks to begin discussions, the league and players met briefly, remained miles apart in their respective CBA offers, and the league entered a lockout in early December.

New New York Mets' pitcher Max Scherzer has been a leader in negotiations / Getty Images

Now, we're three months into this lockout, and games have officially begun to be cancelled. Though both sides have their faults, it's impossible not to place blame squarely on the shoulders of the owners. The greed and self-importance of a group of billionaires, the majority of whom do not care about the product on the field, is killing the game of baseball right now.

With the news of games being cancelled becoming official, certain players took to Twitter, to sound off on the decisions made by the league that they used to call their own. Here are some of the best reactions from players in the New York market, and beyond, as the negotiations began to fall apart.

Get our free mobile app

Read The Best Reactions from MLB Players from New York and Beyond

Jameson Taillon has been incredibly vocal during this process:

Taillon responded to a note from the Commissioner with this:

One of the rare times we saw Gerrit Cole tweet something original, he had this to say:

Former (and possibly, future) Yankee Anthony Rizzo weighed in:

Outside of New York, Angels' pitcher Michael Lorenzen shared his thoughts:

Giants' hurler Alex Wood chimed in:

Retired pitcher, and Bronx native, Tom Koehler warned future generations about what they were watching:

The most vocal player, however, may have been Lance McCullers, who was involved in the negotiations directly. McCullers was vocal throughout the process, and ultimately deactivated his Twitter account out of, what appeared to be, pure frustration:

While cancelling the entire season still seems a bit far-fetched, the league clearly has no qualms about cancelling chunks of games. This needs to get fixed, fast, because as much as the above players are victims in this situation, the true casualty lies in baseball's fanbase.

That same fanbase is leaving the sport in droves right now.

Ten of the Most Controversial Athletes in New York Right Now

Here are ten pro athletes in the state of New York who, through either their play or actions in their personal life, are constantly surrounded by controversy.

Which New York Major Pro Sports Team Has the Best Jerseys? [RANKINGS]

25 Years, 25 Pro Athletes Elected to the Hall of Fame with NY Ties

From members of New York sports teams, to residents of the Capital Region and beyond, to some of the best sports stories from the Empire State, here are 25 Hall of Fame nominees from the past 25 years, all with ties to New York state.