Major League Baseball has found another way of disappointing its fanbase. The league that can’t get out of its own way has done it again.
At 11:59 p.m. Wednesday night, Major League Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement expired, resulting in owners locking out the players and the first work stoppage since the 1994-1995 season.
“Despite the league’s best efforts to make a deal with the Players Association, we were unable to extend our 26 year-long history of labor peace and come to an agreement with the MLBPA before the current CBA expired,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred wrote in a prepared statement. “Therefore, we have been forced to commence a lockout of Major League players, effective at 12:01am ET on December 2.”
“Simply put, we believe that an offseason lockout is the best mechanism to protect the 2022 season,” Manfred continued. “We hope that the lockout will jumpstart the negotiations and get us to an agreement that will allow the season to start on time. This defensive lockout was necessary because the Players Association’s vision for Major League Baseball would threaten the ability of most teams to be competitive. It’s simply not a viable option. From the beginning, the MLBPA has been unwilling to move from their starting position, compromise, or collaborate on solutions.”
The threat of a lockout has been looming for quite some time, as the 2016 CBA was set to expire. In negotiations for a new CBA, the players and owners have not been able to agree on a few key issues.
“This shutdown is a dramatic measure, regardless of the timing,” the MLBPA said in a statement. “It is not required by law or for any other reason. It was the owners’ choice, plain and simple, specifically calculated to pressure Players into relinquishing rights and benefits, and abandoning good faith bargaining proposals that will benefit not just Players, but the game and industry as a whole.”
“We remain determined to return to the field under the terms of a negotiated collective bargaining agreement that is fair to all parties, and provides fans with the best version of the game we all love,” the statement concludes.
Statement from the Major League Baseball Players Association: pic.twitter.com/34uIGf762W
— MLBPA Communications (@MLBPA_News) December 2, 2021
For the players, they would like to lower the age and service time of when a player can become a free agent, thus allowing them to sign a large contract earlier in their careers. MLB players would also like to address the practice of teams holding highly-regarded prospects in the Minor League’s in order to manipulate their service time, as well as organizations “tanking” in order to bottom out and have a minimal payroll.
Max Scherzer — who recently signed a three-year $130 million deal with the New York Mets — provided a statement to The Athletic as a member of the MLBPA’S executive subcommittee.
“Unless this CBA completely addresses the competition (issues) and younger players getting paid, that’s the only way I’m going to put my name on it,” Scherzer said.
While the lockout is still a long way off from impacting actual games, it does have an immediate impact.
Free agents are not allowed to sign during the lockout, while no contact is allowed between union players and team employees, meaning players rehabbing from injuries are not allowed to work with team trainers.
The last MLB work stoppage resulted in the cancellation of the 1994 World Series and shortened the 1995 season to 144 games.
Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers, and the NBA for Sporting News. Send your sports questions to [email protected].
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.