Here's What it Would Cost the MLB Owners to Meet the Players in the Middle for 2020 Season Negotiations

Just when it looked like MLB and the players' association were on the verge of reaching a compromise, they have returned -- due in large part to the owners' infuriating stinginess -- to bickering in public.

It was reported on Friday that the league has no plans to respond to the players' 70-game counter. On the surface, that seemed ridiculous. When you break down what the owners aren't forking over, the situation becomes all the more disheartening.

Make no mistake about it, folks, $5 million is pocket change for these owners, as the majority of them are worth over $1 billion. After all the supposed progress that was made during Wednesday's face-to-face meeting between commissioner Rob Manfred and MLBPA executive director Tony Clark, we are back to square one.

The league's refusal to cough up $5 million each to meet in the middle of 65 games really isn't that surprising as they've been stubborn throughout the entire negotiation process. It just further confirms that the owners are running the sand out of the hourglass until they get the number of games they desired from Day 1, which appears to be somewhere between 48 and 60.

It's just the same old story. Each time you think both sides are closing in on an agreement, someone steps in and pushes it two or three steps backwards. The momentum gained this week truly feels like ages ago.

Baseball fans deserve so much better.