MLB Overcomes Cancellation Threats as Player Lockout Ends
March 11, 2022
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The 2022 Major League Baseball owners lockout ended Thursday, March 10 as they ratified a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The lockout still has altered the 2022 MLB season schedule, as opening day has been moved to Thursday, April 7. But there will still be 162 games, according to commissioner Rob Manfred, who apologized to fans for the past few difficult months. The agreement has ended threats of multiple game cancellations and postponements.
Both team owners and players were successful at getting what they wanted out of the standoff with the MLB that owners imposed on December 2. The lockout ended up lasting 99 days and amounted to the league’s second longest lapse of activity in pro baseball history. Spring training camps will open this Sunday, March 13 while teams begin to sign free agents. Meanwhile, spring training games are expected to start March 18.
The season was originally set to begin March 31, but was pushed back a week due to player negotiations. The games that were scheduled for the first week through April 6 will be rescheduled at the end of the season.
Player Victories
The eight members of the MLB Players Association (MLBPA) executive subcommittee and 30 player reps voted 26-12 to ratify the agreement. The Competitive Balance Tax (CBT), which takes the place of a salary cap, is a luxury tax placed on baseball that determines the total amount of money a team can spend on players. The agreement pushes the CBT up from $210 million to $230 million, then up to $244 million over the five-year plan.
Another win for players was that the minimum player salary jumped from $570,500 to $700,000 and will eventually rise to $780,000 over the five-year period. Additionally, a bonus allotment of $50 million will be divided up among younger players.
Draft Changes
Changes to the draft call for a draft lottery to discourage tanking, which is a team-building scheme involving purposely taking losses to access benefits awarded to losing teams. Several losing seasons can lead to the accumulation of multiple number one draft picks while keeping payroll low and tapping into revenue sharing. The tanking scandal began to escalate in 2018 when the Marlins traded away four top players, leading to their last-place finish the following season.
Other Labor Deal Components
The MLB has 45 days to implement the new rules for the 2023 season, which include bigger bases, a pitch clock and ban on shifts. Designated hitters will now appear in the National League, which will likely affect team decisions on free agents. This change effectively eliminates pitchers from batting orders.
In the pro baseball world, a designated hitter (DH) is a player who replaces the pitcher in the batting lineup. Just as a pitcher might only play defense, a DH only plays offense. The American League adopted this rule in 1973, although pitchers continued to bat until the MLB issued a universal DH rule for 2020 due to the pandemic.
New Playoff Schedule
The 2022 MLB playoffs will expand from 10 to 12 teams with six representing each league. Each league will comprise three division winners and three wildcard teams. The top two teams in each division will earn bye weeks in the playoffs. The other four teams in each division will play a best-of-three series. There won’t be play-in games to determine playoff spots, which will instead depend on tiebreaker formulas.
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