Major League Baseball made a big announcement about the 2022 season. On Friday, the league announced that the first week of exhibition games will not be played. This comes as the owners have locked out the players after the collective bargaining agreement expired on Dec. 2. Both sides are in the middle of negotiations for a new deal.
“We regret that, without a collective bargaining agreement in place, we must postpone the start of Spring Training games until no earlier than Saturday, March 5,” the league said in a statement. “All 30 clubs are unified in their strong desire to bring players back to the field and fans back to the stands.
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“The clubs have adopted a uniform policy that provides an option for full refunds for fans who have purchased tickets from the clubs to any Spring Training games that are not taking place. We are committed to reaching an agreement that is fair to each side. On Monday, members of the owners’ bargaining committee will join an in-person meeting with the Players Association and remain every day next week to negotiate and work hard toward starting the season on time.”
Spring cames were set to open this week, with games starting on Feb. 26, according to ESPN. “MLB announced today that it ‘must’ postpone the start of spring training games. This is false,” the MLBPA said in its statement Friday. “Nothing requires the league to delay the start of spring training, much like nothing required the league’s decision to implement the lockout in the first place. Despite these decisions by the league, players remain committed to the negotiating process.”
The MLBPA made its latest proposal on Thursday. The players had been asking for all two-year service-time players to be eligible for arbitration. They are also asking for the pre-arbitration bonus pool from $100 million to $115 million. But the sides are far apart when it comes to those issues as well as penalties for the competitive balance tax.
With the first week of Spring Training pushed back means that the start of the regular season could be in danger. The last time spring and regular season games were missed outside the COVID-19 pandemic was during the player’s strike which began in 1994 and carried over to 1995.
