First Pitch: Day Sixty One – Lockout

31 Jan 2022

When the MLB owners initiated the current lockout, the belief was that there were two key dates for games to be played on time.

February 1st was the expected deadline for Spring Training games to begin on time. March 1st was the expected deadline for the regular season to begin on time.

Tomorrow is February 1st, and it doesn’t appear that MLB and the MLBPA are close to a deal. I also wouldn’t be surprised if we’re saying the same thing one month from today.

MLB has already discussed their willingness to lose games over the outstanding issues on the table. This soft threat continues the owner’s aggressive approach of trying to put pressure on the players to accept their terms.

The owners initiated a lockout, and that wasn’t a requirement. It was a negotiation tactic. Most casual fans won’t see this as a tactic. They’ll see this as greedy players making millions not accepting a deal.

When it comes to games being cancelled, even more pressure will hit the players. That’s not just pressure from the public that should be focused on the owners, but pressure on the wallets. The MLB owners — made up of some of the wealthiest people in the entire world — will be able to withstand the financial loss of missed games more than the players. That’s especially true of the players making the minimum, or 40-man roster players still on a minor league salary.

I’ve been thinking from the start of this process that MLB is going to lose some games in 2022, and that belief has only gotten stronger the more the owners play their games from a position of strength.

I’m personally hoping that the players hold out for what they want, as difficult as that will be.

I’m personally expecting that the 2022 MLB season will be shortened because of all of this.