Rob Manfred Deserves More Credit After Monday Strategy Actually Worked

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has been taking a ton of heat the past few weeks over his inability to get the players and owners to come together and agree to a season. The MLB world was turned upside down when he said he wasn't sure if there'd be a 2020 campaign too.

It turns out that was all part of Manfred's plan. News broke Wednesday that Manfred and MLBPA executive Tony Clark finally got in a room to talk face-to-face instead of trading jabs via the media. The meeting was so successful, it appears Manfred did his job and we are inching closer and closer to there being baseball this summer.

Breaking: MLB and players union are closing in on an agreement to play the 2020 season, via players. Deal expected to be for prorated pay and include expanded playoffs.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) June 17, 2020

This is quite the turn of events after Manfred cast doubt on the season. Yet, his strategy paid off and it forced Clark to speak with him to avoid the total catastrophe of a lost campaign. It appears the two sat down and weren't going to leave until they were close to finalizing things.

Source confirms: Commissioner Rob Manfred and union head Tony Clark meeting in Arizona. First reported: @JonHeyman.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) June 17, 2020

There is no official deal as of yet, so the praise for Manfred will still have to wait. However, it's looking like Manfred was able to bite his tongue, roll up his sleeves and finally get to work on a deal that would make both sides happy. Now, all we can do is wait for that first pitch of the new season.