Rob Manfred may be living in an alternate timeline.On Tuesday, MLB and the MLB Players A sociation couldn't strike a deal on a new collective bargaining agreement, with the league subsequently canceling the first two series of the regular season.Commi sioner Manfred took to the microphone to announce the cancellations, but then he offered a confusing segue into the league's "revenue i sues" over the past five years:"You also Austen Williams Jersey need to remember that the last 5 years have been very difficult years from a revenue perspective for the industry given the pandemic" - Rob Manfred SNY (@SNYtv) "You also need to remember Kurt Suzuki Jersey that the last five years have been very difficult years from a revenue perspective for the industry given the pandemic," he said.MORE: That statement is confusing at best and misleading at worst. MLB revenue has risen in every year but 2020, the year the COVID-19 pandemic took hold of the planet.Therefore, it seems like a bit of a stretch to blame the pandemic which is nearing 2 years old stateside for a James Bourque Jersey downturn in revenues over the past five seasons.While Manfred likely meant that the 2020 season torpedoed overall revenue growth over that five-year span, the league has still seen record revenues over the last 20 years. A large part of that is due to record-breaking TV contracts and MLB's partnership with gambling and betting sites, which are the league's predominant revenue streams.Of course, those record numbers also pair with declining average player salaries and a number of teams scraping the bottom of the barrel with their payrolls.The owners pushing hard to avoid general economics shifts for the benefit of their players during a period where teams make more than ever are bad overall optics for Raudy Read Jersey the league. So is this picture of Manfred shadow-golfing:A sociated Pre s photo taken by Lynne Sladky earlier this afternoon of MLB commi sioner Rob Manfred at Roger Dean Stadium, where labor talks are being held. Michael Silverman (@MikeSilvermanBB) Related Articles Mark Reynolds Jersey Rob Manfred estimates $4 billion lo s for MLB team owners if no baseball in 2020