MLB is in Shambles: Lockout Update
Fans protesting outside of MLB headquarters in New York City via Barstool Sports
This past Tuesday was a sad day for baseball. Commissioner Rob Manfred announced he will be cancelling the first two series of the regular season, making the 2022 season officially messy. With this new circumstance established by the commissioner, this leaves teams having a different number of games than others. For example, the Yankees have lost a total of 7 games so far and the Phillies losing a total of 5. That’s just the tip of the iceberg for the newest updates on the lockout.
After implementing a lockout on the players on December 2, 2021, Rob Manfred has been getting an astronomical amount of backlash. MLB decided to wait 43 days to submit their first offer to the MLBPA and on top of that, only on March 21, 2022, did both sides finally start meeting every day. After the sides made progress during 13 negotiating sessions over 16½ hours on Monday February 28th, the league sent the MLBPA a "best and final offer" on Tuesday March 1st, the ninth straight day of negotiations. That “best and final offer” was looked at as a joke to the MLBPA and was unanimously declined.
MLB's best-and-final offer:
- No changes to CBT thresholds (220/220/220/224/230)
- A $5M increase on pre-arb bonus pool from $25M to $30M
- An increase of minimums from $675K to $700K, moving up $10K/year
The MLBPA's previous offer:
- CBT thresholds at (238/244/250/256/263)
- Pre-arb bonus pool at $85M with $5M annual increases
- Minimums at $725K going up $20K a year
NOTE: Both sides have also agreed on a 12-team playoff pool
Rob Manfred held a press conference after the players declined the owners “best and final offer”. During that press conference, Manfred was found laughing which caused him even more backlash. Him being photographed practicing his gold swings just a few moments before his press didn’t help his cause either. Some of the statements in Manfred’s press are as followed.
Rob Manfred smiling and practicing his golf swing before his press via Larry Brown Sports & Golfweek
"The calendar dictates that we are not going to be able to play the first two series of the regular season and those series are cancelled." Adds: "No agreement is possible until Thursday."
“The concerns of our fans are at the very top of our consideration list.”
“MLB also proposed to eliminate shifts and add a pitching clock”
“The canceled games will not be made up and the players will not be paid”
“We need to regroup and figure out how we're going to move the process forward.”
“MLB plans to regroup and determine next course of action”
- MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred
The biggest problem that most people have with this, is not the fact the negations are seemly going nowhere, it’s the fact that MLB waited almost two months to kickstart talks and only recently did they start meeting every day. If this was started right after the lockout was implemented, many believe a new CBA would have been agreed upon.
From what we know now, MLB has notified players that talks can resume no earlier than Thursday March 3rd, and must be in New York, which the players have agreed to. The hope is meetings will continue to be composed daily in order to salvage the rest of the season. With both sides firm on what they want in the new CBA agreement, sessions must take place daily to avoid more cancellations.
Now that we know what the MLB’s side is, let’s take a look into the players. Players are obviously not happy about the first two series of the 2022 season being cancelled. Afterall, these are games they will not be paid for. Some players around the league have took to Twitter after the recent news broke. Here are some of the statements made by the players.
“The last 24hrs I’d say there was cautious optimism on the players side because the owners were actually at the table negotiating with us toward a deal. What we’re asking is more than fair. If there’s no deal the optimism from MLB was a PR illusion to make it look like they tried”
-Alex Wood
“To the fans we will miss you most. To the younger generation of baseball players, this is for you.”
-Anthony Rizzo
“I want to play, I love our game, but I know we need to get this CBA right. Instead of bargaining in good faith, MLB locked us out. Instead of negotiating a fair deal, rob canceled games. Players stand together. For our game, for our fans, and for every player who comes after us. We owe it to the next generation.”
-Mike Trout
“Rob Manfred and MLB's owners have cancelled the start of the season. Players and fans around the world who love baseball are disgusted, but sadly not surprised. From the beginning of these negotiations, Players' objectives have been consistent - to promote competition, provide fair compensation for young Players, and to uphold the integrity of our market system. Against the backdrop of growing revenues and record profits, we are seeking nothing more than a fair agreement. What Rob Manfred characterized as a "defensive lockout" is, in fact, the culmination of a decades-long attempt by owners to break our Player fraternity. As in the past, this effort will fail. We are united and committed to negotiating a fair deal that will improve the sport for Players, fans and everyone who loves our game.”
-official statement from the MLBPA
The bottom line is that the MLB and the MLBPA need to come to an agreement on the new CBA. With 2019 being the last “normal” MLB season, baseball has taken hits the last two years. With the COVID shortened 2020 season the sport lost a lot of money. Baseball is only going to suffer more the longer the lockout continues. The confidence level from everyone involved in America’s Pastime is low to say the least. From the owners and players to the fans, everyone is suffering. With revenue now at stake, our hope is that this will kickstart negotiations and not finish until both sides come to an agreement.