MLB swinging for a new deal!

Normally at this time, spring training for the MLB would have just begun, but on Dec. 2, 2021, Major League Baseball went into a lockout due to the expiration of the previous collective bargaining agreement. During the lockout, all free agents have been frozen along with all transactions, including trades. 

This lockout is such a big deal because of the longevity of it. The biggest concern with the lockout is that it is still going on and will interfere with the regular season start time. Fans didn’t want this to happen because fans have been eager to watch baseball since the season ended in October.

“I really didn’t think that the lockout would interfere with the regular season because it never has before, but yet again, you never know because of how crazy the past couple of years have been,” senior Amedin Rushitoski said. 

A lockout in the MLB has never interfered with the regular season but since this is the first time it is happening, so the players wouldn’t be paid their base salary. Many officials didn’t think that the lockout would have any effect on the regular season but it was a big shock to everyone in the baseball world. The deadline for an agreement to be reached was on Feb.y 28, 2022, however, the deadline was pushed back to March 1, 2022. Since an agreement was not met by the deadline, opening day was canceled as long as the first two series of the season. 

There are many things that are being discussed during the lockout such as when players should be getting paid, rule changes, and spending limits in relation to the salary cap. “I hoped that the owners were going to listen to the players and compromise with them since the lockout has been going on for more than three months,” senior Andy Justus said. “Teams are adding younger players to their rosters and they should be paying those players more and match their on-field value along with incentives to make teams more competitive.”

During the meetings of the lockout, there has been many discussions about the salary, DH, shifts, etc. The MLB agreed to increase the league minimum wage to $700,000 which was a $130,000 increase since 2021. The MLB also agreed to include a 33 percent increase in wages to more than two-thirds of the league and adding $100 million annually for compensation to younger players. There were questions about the DH rule and the league agreed that there will be a universal DH rule implemented and there will no longer be shifts to add excitement to the game.

There have been only four lockouts in the history of the MLB and this one is one of the worst ones. The last lockout was in 1990 which was very similar to the lockout going on right now. In the 1990 season, spring training was postponed and the regular season was pushed back a little bit, but no games were canceled.  

“I think it’s a real shame that the lockout is taking so long because baseball fans have been waiting since last fall for baseball to start again. I am pretty upset that opening day and the first two series are canceled. I hope that the owners will come to an agreement soon so that they can save the rest of the season,” senior Colin Schuster said.

No lockout has impacted the regular season too much and everyone was hoping that this lockout will have very minimal impact on it. Since spring training has been postponed one week, the MLB and MLBPA have been meeting every day to try and come to an agreement so that the regular season remains unaffected. However, an agreement has not been reached after nine long days of bargaining, which resulted in the first ever cancellation of regular season games.