MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred made official what we all were afraid of: he cancelled the first two series of the 2022 season.
He did it in the absence of a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA), as they don’t want to lift the ongoing lockout without one.
Sadly, those six or seven games, depending on the team, probably won’t be the only ones to be chopped off the calendar.
As long as days go by without a CBA deal, more games are in jeopardy, because players would need at least a couple of weeks of spring training.
MLB is certainly not helping to improve his public image by negotiating the way they did prior to Tuesday’s deadline.
Sadly for fans, it’s not the first time they have had to lose games and it probably won’t be the last.
We Have Lost Hundreds Of Games Throughout History
Codify Baseball made a review of what we have lost so far in labor disagreements.
“WHAT WE’VE LOST: ’72 strike –> 86 games. ’73 lockout –> 0 games. ’76 lockout –> 0 games. ’80 strike –> 0 games. ’81 strike –> 713 games. ’85 strike –> 0 games. ’90 lockout –> 0 games. ’94-’95 strike –> 938 games & postseason. ’22 lockout –> 75 games and counting,” was the tweet.
WHAT WE'VE LOST
'72 strike –> 86 games
'73 lockout –> 0 games
'76 lockout –> 0 games
'80 strike –> 0 games
'81 strike –> 713 games
'85 strike –> 0 games
'90 lockout –> 0 games
'94-'95 strike –> 938 games & postseason
'22 lockout –> 75 games and counting— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) March 1, 2022
It’s painful for fans, and it doesn’t even include the hundreds of games lost in 2020 with disagreements over the pandemic season.
To clarify, a lockout is initiated by owners and a strike is initiated by players.
This one is a lockout, and owners could easily lift it and we would be playing baseball as we speak.
They won’t do it, though, not without a CBA.
When it comes to missing regular season games for labor conflicts, MLB doesn’t help its own image.
In the end, the ones losing the most are players and fans.
NEXT: Clint Frazier Provides Some Humor Regarding The MLB Lockout
