MLB Lockout Ends and 162-Game Season Will Be Played

During what is expected to be a frenzy of transactions, players will need to get to spring training camps in Arizona and Florida this weekend. Spring training, which is normally six weeks, will be reduced considerably. Players are required to report by Sunday and exhibition games will start on March 17.

“In terms of the shortened spring, we had to go through this in 2020,” Cole said. “There’s some experience there before. And I think that that will impart some wisdom on some players and some organizations about how they go about that.”

Baseball’s last work stoppage had come when the players went on strike in 1994, with that dispute dragging into the 1995 season. Since then, the league and its players had enjoyed labor peace.

It was not always a friendly relationship, and the players’ union, the strongest in professional sports, became increasingly vocal about its complaints. Those included salaries lagging behind club revenues, wishing to improve competition among teams and how younger players were paid less despite being heavily relied upon. And when a new agreement couldn’t be reached when the previous one expired, Manfred locked the players out on Dec. 2.

“If we had just slid into the season and started the season without the lockout, I don’t think we’d have an agreement today,” Manfred said.

Tony Clark, a former player and the head of the union, said in a statement: “Our union endured the second-longest work stoppage in its history to achieve significant progress in key areas that will improve not just current players’ rights and benefits, but those of generations to come. Players remained engaged and unified from beginning to end, and in the process re-energized our fraternity.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/10/sports/baseball/mlb-lockout-ends.html