MLB, the largest and most prominent baseball league in the world, has no set date to start spring training, or the regular season for that matter.
Well, they do: as the regular season will supposedly begin on March 31.
The problem is that the plan is in jeopardy, because MLB and the Players Association haven’t agreed on a new collective bargaining deal (CBA).
The stalled talks prompted the owners to impose a lockout in early December, banning teams from signing or trading players.
Under the lockout, there can’t be any communication between players and teams, and they can’t even train or rehab in the club’s facilities.
It’s something that owners did with the intention of pressuring players, but all they achieved was create a sense of resentment and discouragement between all the parties involved, most notably the players.
The League Just Regained A Sense Of Urgency Regarding CBA Talks
Now, after taking all of December off and showing no real intentions of making concessions, the league is now informing the Players Association they have set a deadline.
The nature of the deadline, for owners, is simple: if there isn’t a new CBA deal by February 28, the season won’t start on time.
“MLB informed the players union that a new CBA must be agreed upon by Feb. 28 to start the 2022 regular season on time, via multiple sources,” was shared by @MLBONFOX.
MLB informed the players union that a new CBA must be agreed upon by Feb. 28 to start the 2022 regular season on time, via multiple sources. pic.twitter.com/DxQg56N4mz
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) February 18, 2022
It’s kind of funny because the owners set a deadline to solve a problem they imposed over all parties involved: the lockout.
And to end the lockout, owners want/need a new CBA.
It’s unclear if players agree with the “deadline”, but both sides appear eager to fully engage in negotiations starting next week.
Will we have a 162-game MLB season starting on time this year?
We will find out soon enough.
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