MLB has already cancelled two series of the 2022 season, robbing teams of six or seven games.
Unfortunately, and given the current state of talks, there is no imminent deal, so there is a great chance more games are eliminated off the calendar.
This comes on the heels of MLB’s self-imposed “deadline” to get players to sign a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) by Tuesday.
They didn’t sign, and they are retaliating by taking games off the calendar.
This is obviously an unwanted outcome for everybody involved, and it does the game more harm than good.
For example, it takes some games off baseball stars and their seasons, so their final stat lines won’t be the same as in a 162-game campaign.
Games Being Cancelled Robs Players The Chance To Do Something Special
If more games are cancelled, nobody will have a shot at the single-season record for homers, doubles, triples, stolen bases, walks, and many other stats.
Yes, many of those records are considered “unbreakable”, but that’s not the point.
It may also rob us from watching perhaps the game’s most exciting player, Los Angeles Angels’ two-way star Shohei Ohtani, and see what he can do for an encore.
Codify Baseball is already lamenting the lost time, thinking about Ohtani’s final numbers.
This is putting a damper on my dreams of a 20-win / 50-homer 2022 for Shohei Ohtani. pic.twitter.com/wR3IewWqZk
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) March 2, 2022
“This is putting a damper on my dreams of a 20-win/50-homer 2022 for Shohei Ohtani,” was its message, with a little humor.
Of course, we know Ohtani is talented and all, but a 20-win/50-homer season isn’t happening… is it?
In all seriousness, he could definitely hit 50 homers (he had 46 last year), but the Angels probably won’t let him pitch enough to have a shot at 20 wins.
It would have been fun to see if he could reach 50 dingers, but MLB got in its own way, again.
NEXT: MLB Players Remain Open To Negotiating Right Now