The 2022 MLB season may or may not start on time.
The league and the players’ union are still trying to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement, or CBA, which is the document that regulates all baseball-related matters.
It’s a vital document that needs to be approved for the season to occur, because owners locked out the players in early December.
MLB thinks they have about 11 days until the regular season is officially in danger of being delayed, so there still may be some time to finish the deal.
The problem is that both parties are incredibly and frustratingly far apart in what they are asking.
We have always talked about a “delayed” season, meaning it could start in late April, May, or even the summer months.
It’s impossible to know for sure.
Losing The Season Could Be Catastrophic For Players
However, there could be a chance there is no season at all, and that’s an extremely worrisome scenario for players.
Players are often in charge of providing for their households, and if they don’t play, they receive no pay.
Regarding the chances of the season being suspended as a result of the CBA feud, ESPN insider Jeff Passan said that while it’s a possibility, there may be some light at the end of the tunnel.
He was asked to make an educated guess on what are the chances there is no season at all, to which he replied: “Well, it’s non-zero. We saw the NHL lose a full season. We saw MLB lose a World Series. But generally speaking, protracted labor disputes in sports center around an intractable fundamental issue — i.e. salary cap in ’94. None of those exist today, which bodes well for baseball.”
Well, it's non-zero. We saw the NHL lose a full season. We saw MLB lose a World Series. But generally speaking, protracted labor disputes in sports center around an intractable fundamental issue — i.e. salary cap in '94. None of those exist today, which bodes well for baseball. https://t.co/bilswxetN0
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 17, 2022
The two sides will probably find some common ground at some point, but that could come at the expense of many regular season games.
Stay tuned.
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