The 2022 MLB campaign is a complete unknown at this point: no one knows if there will be one, for starters, and if there is, the exact start date for spring training and the regular season calendar are still up in the air.
USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweeted that “today was supposed to be the official first day of spring training for all 30 teams.”
Instead, he says, we are headed into the 77th day of the MLB lockout.
“Spring training is officially delayed,” he wrote, although there hasn’t been a proper announcement from the two parties involved in the ongoing CBA conflict: the players and the owners.
Today was supposed to be the official first day of spring training for all 30 teams. Instead we are headed into the 77th day of the MLB lockout. Spring training is officially delayed.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) February 16, 2022
CBA means collective bargaining agreement, and it’s the one thing preventing the season, and in this case spring training, from starting.
The Lockout Is Still In Place
It’s the official document that regulates all things related to the baseball season: contracts, rules, and other things that need to be written, reviewed, and approved in order for baseball to function.
The old CBA expired on December 1, and owners, as a means to put some pressure on players, installed a lockout.
Under the terms of the lockout, teams can’t sign, trade, or even formally talk to their players.
Players can’t even rehab injuries at their team’s facilities.
Everything is locked at the moment…until there is a new CBA deal.
Both parties are not only far apart in their respective requirements and needs, but they are also not talking at the moment.
The last meeting was on Saturday, and one would think that, if the parties are under pressure to get a deal done, they would be talking and meeting every day with spring training so close.
They aren’t, however, and fans are the ones losing the most: their favorite pastime.
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