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The threat has been issued. MLB has set Monday as the deadline for agreeing on a new collective bargaining agreement; a league spokesperson stated Opening Day (March 31) will be postponed if a deal isn’t in place by then. Regular-season games would be canceled and not rescheduled.
Though MLB and the players’ union have finally demonstrated a slight sense of urgency to end the lockout by meeting daily this week, the two sides remain far from agreement on multiple fronts. I see little reason to believe the season will start on time — Joel Sherman presents evidence for pessimists and optimists — and now just wonder how many (how few?) games MLB will give us this season.
I expect there to be pain before there is progress. When revenue is lost and paychecks are missed, negotiations will begin in better faith. Each side is willing to lose some money because they know they will lose few customers. Fans are taken for granted with good reason. Sports sunk its claws in us when we were young, and lifelong passion is highly unlikely to be destroyed by the bickering of the obscenely wealthy. Sadly, labor disputes in sports are part of the package now. It’s just a matter of how destructive each saga will be.
Here’s to hoping this lockout ends before it joins the list of these miserable chapters in sports history:
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