ESPN is reporting that MLB and the Players Association have reached a tentative agreement on a new collective-bargaining agreement (2022-26). The agreement came on the 99th day of the owners' lockout.
The Players Association's final vote was 26-12 in favour of the agreement. The eight-man executive subcommittee unanimously rejected the deal; they wanted higher luxury-tax thresholds. The team representatives voted 26-4 in favour, with reps from the Yankees, Mets, Astros, and Cardinals voting no. (At least 20 votes were required for approval.)
Spring training camps will open on Sunday, exhibition games will begin March 17 or 18, and Opening Day will be (tentatively) April 7. If so, the Red Sox will begin the 2022 season on the road against the Yankees.
According to ESPN's Jeff Passan:
The deal materialized after talks ratcheted up this week, when the league made a proposal that bridged the significant gap in the competitive-balance tax, a key issue in the end stages of talks. A dispute over an international draft threatened negotiations and caused the league to "remove from the schedule" another two series Wednesday, but those issues were resolved Thursday morning and the league delivered a full proposal to the union, which it voted to accept. . . .
MLB had pushed for expanding the postseason to 12 teams -- a plan to which the MLBPA agreed. Additionally, player uniforms will feature advertising for the first time, with patches on jerseys and decals on batting helmets.
Other elements of the deal include:
• A 45-day window [i.e., the 2022-23 off-season] for MLB to implement rules changes -- among them a pitch clock, ban on shifts and larger bases in the 2023 season
• The National League adopting the designated hitter
• A draft lottery implemented with the intent of discouraging tanking
• Draft-pick inducements to discourage service-time manipulation
• Limiting the number of times a player can be optioned to the minor leagues in one season
Hala-fucking-loo-yah!
Baseball is really back. Nine inning doubleheaders and regular extra inning rules return. Man on 2nd is a thing of the past.
— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) March 10, 2022
Bigger bases would be 18 inches square instead of 15. If that cuts down on the players who are called out when they slide past second base and their fingertips come off the base for .0001 of a second, then I approve.
ReplyDeleteLet's play ball!
ReplyDeleteAny analysis of how this affects the majority of professional ballplayers who play for below poverty wages? How any of the money will "trickle down"?
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