DENVER -- While Labor Day is a day off for most Americans, all 30 Major League teams will play Monday. Baseball is well known for having the strongest player's union in professional sports, and the players are grateful for that.
Rockies reliever Adam Ottavino is the team's union representative, and catcher Nick Hundley held the same role when he was with the Padres from 2009-12. Hundley currently serves as the team's alternate representative.
Being involved with the union is important to the duo, especially with the current collective bargaining agreement up on Dec. 1.
"The sacrifices that people before us have made it so that we can make an unbelievable living playing this game," Hundley said.
Ottavino was inspired when the late Michael Weiner, who served as the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association from 2009-13, came to speak to him during Spring Training.
"We're trying to make sure that we're getting our equal share of the overall pie and that the industry continues to flourish and continues to be something that kids aspire to become big league players and protect the game as much as we can from our side," Ottavino said. "Just continue to build off what the guys before us did just to keep it going for the next generation of players. I think that being one of the 20,000 ever to play in the big leagues is very special, and we want to keep it that way."
"I'm very grateful for the landscape for players at the Major League level these days," said Rockies manager Walt Weiss, who also played in the Majors for 14 seasons. "It's taken a lot of time, and there's been a lot of confrontation, but I think baseball overall is in a good place on both sides of the labor deal. Baseball is alive and well."