For the second time in three seasons, Major League Baseball will not begin on time.
MLB announced Monday that it is canceling the first week of the regular season, which was set to begin with Opening Day March 31, as part of the owners’ ongoing lockout of the players union. The league had given a self-imposed deadline of Monday to reach a deal before it would begin canceling games, pushing that back to Tuesday at 5 PM ET after a marathon negotiating session Monday night.
It should be noted that the absence of a collective bargaining agreement does not necessitate a lockout or strike and there is precedent for leagues continuing to hold games as negotiations continue.
The lockout, which began December 1, is the first work stoppage in Major League Baseball since the players went on strike in 1994. It is the eighth work stoppage in the four major sports since 1994, all of them owner-imposed lockouts (1994-95 NHL, 1995 NBA, 1998-99 NBA, 2004-05 NHL, 2011 NFL, 2011-12 NBA, 2012-13 NHL).
Barring a change of heart wherein the canceled games will be made up, the owners have now ensured a second shortened Major League Baseball season in three years. The league played just 60 games per team two years ago, a minuscule figure that was affected as much by the COVID-19 pandemic as by the inability of the owners and players to agree on salary conditions.
In the current conflict, the owners and union are said to be far apart on the luxury tax threshold, the size of a new bonus pool for pre-arbitration players and on minimum salary limits, per reports. The owners have been seeking an expanded, 14-team postseason, with some reports indicating that the sides may agree to a 12-team field. The players have for years stewed over declining payrolls, which have shrunken 4% from 2015 through last year, per the Associated Press.
The 2022 Major League Baseball season will be the sixth shortened major professional sports season in just three years, joining the 2019-20 and 2020-21 NBA and NHL seasons and the aforementioned 2020 MLB season.
[News from AP 3.1]
