PHILADELPHIA — It's easy to see the dollar signs and decimal points, the posturing and legalese, and dismiss the threat of a delayed opening to the Major League Baseball season as a food fight between billionaires and millionaires. Look again, though, and you will find that baseball's first labor conflict in a quarter-century actually has a human face.
And it bears an uncanny resemblance to Ranger Suárez.
Suárez had a historic season for the Phillies in 2021. The 26-year-old lefty became the first pitcher since Bob Gibson in 1968 — and the fourth in the last 102 years — to make at least 10 starts, throw 100 or more innings, and post a sub-1.50 ERA. He also picked up four saves and was valued at three more wins than a replacement-level pitcher, according to Fangraphs' WAR calculus.
