Ever since MLB owners decided to implement the lockout because they thought it could accelerate negotiations, two things have happened.
One, negotiations were minimal in December and there has been no traction towards a new CBA deal with players ever since.
And two, MLB’s official site stopped uploading content about active players.
Actually, the page content changed completely.
Right now, there isn’t even one piece of news involving a player currently on an MLB roster.
Fans Want Player-Related Content
There are pieces about several topics: women who broke barriers in baseball, how a bobcat became the D-backs mascot, franchises that almost materialized, and videos about some retired players.
MLB’s official Twitter account has been having a hard time lately.
They published the Rachel Balkovec news (she was announced as the manager of the Tampa Tarpons, the Yankees’ Low-A affiliate, which is amazing in many ways) on January 10.
Their previous post was on December 30, and prior to that, they posted something on December 23.
Both posts were about the same thing.
Communities across the South and Midwest were devastated by tornadoes earlier this month. Join us in an effort to help those affected: https://t.co/PdNGaCTN5V pic.twitter.com/cWuzVvK07f
— MLB (@MLB) December 30, 2021
One post per week is rough even in lockout season for one of the biggest leagues in the world.
On the other hand, MLB Network’s account has been a little more active, with some retweets and interesting pieces of news, like Genevieve Beacom making history in her debut as the first woman to play for a professional baseball team in Australia.
The account was inactive from December 30 to January 7, in part because of the New Year, but finding interesting content has been a challenge.
Players are the show, and they are the news.
Fans are getting impatient, mainly because they feel December and the start of January represented some important missed time for negotiations.
For weeks, analysts have been speculating that, if there is no deal by the middle of February, both owners and players would be entering dangerous territory.
After all, that’s the moment in which pitchers and catchers report to training camps to start spring training preparations.
When Will Both Sides Come To An Agreement?
There is still time for both sides to sit down and try to hammer out a deal, but February is not that far away.
There is a chance both sides can come to an agreement relatively quickly, but there is also a chance regular season games are eventually lost, which would be a worst-case scenario given how much time the two parties had to negotiate a new CBA document.
Enough is enough: fans are starting to get tired of the lack of content about the upcoming season and current players in the league’s social media channels and outlets.
They want some positive news, and they want the assurance that they will be able to enjoy a normal, 162-game season this year.
According to MLB Trade Rumors, MLB is expected to make core economics proposal to the MLBPA (MLB Players Association) within two weeks.
Per @BNightengale it's expected the owners will present @MLBPA_News with the "core economics" of their proposal within the next 2 weeks #Mets
— Daniel Wexler (@WexlerRules) January 10, 2022
That seems like a lot of lost days, but maybe by late January, we could start seeing some actual negotiations taking place.
In the meantime, MLB social media will keep trying to find ways to keep fans engaged with content, but it’s getting difficult at this point.
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