While MLB and the Players Association (MLBPA) keep negotiating a new deal that guarantees baseball from 2022 to 2026, the union has facilitated a stadium in Mesa, Arizona, for players to keep themselves ready for the season to start.
At the moment, there is an MLB-imposed lockout in place, so players can’t use their team’s facilities to train and get themselves in shape.
That’s why there is currently no spring training.
The MLBPA, however, is making sure their players have the resources and tools to keep themselves in top physical shape in case the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is reached soon.
The official MLBPA Twitter account posted a video of players working out, throwing, fielding grounders, and hitting in Mesa, Arizona, with the phrase “No days off.”
Arizona 📍
No days off — Mesa, Az.#MLBPlayers pic.twitter.com/SGq13oJOnL
— MLBPA (@MLBPA) March 8, 2022
Keeping players outside their team’s facilities was a move few people understood or justified, but at least the union is doing something to provide a place for them to train.
Lots of players had to use unoccupied baseball fields, or improvise a mound, to have some semblance of a spring training.
Spring Training Has Been Pushed Back And There Is No Date To Start The Season
At the moment, the first week of the regular season (March 31 to April 7) was cancelled, and more cancellations could be on the way if there is no CBA deal by today, according to the league.
It’s an unfortunate situation that has affected players, clubhouse workers, staffers, security personnel, and lots of people who were supposed to have at least a temporary job during spring training.
Everybody hopes there can be a deal soon that guarantees the 2022 season, but MLB and the MLBPA remain far apart in some crucial topics, including minimum salary and the competitive balance tax (CBT), among others.
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