With spring training just around the corner, I will be summarizing the current Lockout that’s happening in the MLB. The League’s situation at the moment can be somewhat defined as a stoppage of work. This hasn’t happened in the MLB in over 25 years! You would think for something that could potentially stop the upcoming season, it’s for a serious reason, right? 

From my perspective, it’s just the owners being stingy. If you play in the MLB All-Star Game, you will receive many benefits, one of which is a pension. A pension is a certain amount of money added to a player’s retirement fund that they receive when they retire. The owners decided to hold onto the pension, and the players weren’t very fond of that decision. Players have also been fighting against tanking to be used as a winning strategy for seasons to come. As of right now from the public’s perspective, the players are on strike. The truth is quite the opposite of that. The current situation is that the owners aren’t allowing players to meet with their team, and aren’t allowing teams to sign new players from free agency. Some are calling it an abuse of power by the owners because in almost all the previous lockouts Major League Baseball has had, the owners won. Some think they may be using that to their advantage, thinking if they just hold out long enough, eventually, the players will give in. However, others are thinking that the players are just being soft, since they get paid so much anyway, what’s the big deal about missing out on this little amount of money? I believe it’s mainly the owners’ fault for this lockout. The main reason this situation is happening is that the players feel that they aren’t getting paid what they deserve. 

Another point to make is that the contract to play for the All-Star Game says you will receive a pension. However apparently, the rule of receiving the pension from participation in the All-Star Game had expired four years ago, and the MLB has been getting away with not paying the players proper compensation. This is just the first time it has been brought to everyone’s attention. Hopefully, the matter will be resolved relatively soon. If not, the possibility of a 2022 Major League Baseball season may not be so bright, to the dismay of fans and players. This will be the third straight shortened Major League Baseball season, and if it is canceled, it will be the first Major League Baseball season canceled since 1994 (Which was also ended early due to a similar lockout), and the first major sports league season to be completely canceled since the 2004-05 National Hockey League (Which was, again, canceled due to a similar lockout). Many players have spoken on where they stand in the case to the press, most saying how they won’t accept an unfair deal this time. All I can say on the situation is that I hope for the sake of the fans as well as the players that the Major League Baseball organization pulls together to find some sort of resolution so that we can all play and watch the game we enjoy.