Topline
Major League Baseball locked out its players early on Thursday morning, plunging the sport into its first work stoppage in 26 years after team owners and players failed to reach terms on a new collective bargaining agreement ahead of a midnight deadline.
Thursday's lockout is Major League Baseball's first work stoppage in 26 years.
Key Facts
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred announced the lockout in an official statement where he said the league believes that an offseason lockout was “the best mechanism to protect the 2022 season.”
The lockout was immediately denounced by the league’s player association (MLBPA) which called it a “dramatic measure” that was being used to “pressure players into relinquishing their rights and benefits.”
The lockout will halt all player activity including free agency, player trades and use of team facilities, while team officials are barred from communicating with players in any way.
The key areas of contention raised by the players and rejected by the league include compensating younger players earlier, raising luxury tax thresholds, a salary floor and other measures that would force teams to be more competitive.
The off-season lockout means that the 2022 season—which is scheduled to begin in March—may still go ahead if the league and players manage to reach a new collective bargaining agreement.
Key Background
Negotiations between the players body and team owners had been ongoing since last spring with the last meeting before the lockout taking place in Dallas on Wednesday. Wednesday’s meeting was brief and lasted just a few minutes as the two sides remained far apart on several key issues, according to the Associated Press. After discussions fell through, the MLB’s 30 team owners gathered in a virtual meeting to reaffirm their lockout decision.
What To Watch For
With the 2022 season beginning in March, most teams are expected to schedule their spring training for February. This leaves the league and the players around two months to come to terms on a new agreement before any of the league’s schedule faces disruption. Any additional delay in negotiations may lead to a curtailed 2022 season, which could be disastrous for the sport which has already been impacted by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
Further Reading
MLB, MLBPA fail to reach new labor agreement; league in 1st lockout since 1990 (ESPN)
MLB owners lock out players, 1st work stoppage since 1995 (Associated Press)
With No Deadline Deal, M.L.B.’s Lockout Begins (New York Times)
