2021–22 Major League Baseball lockout
The 2021–22 Major League Baseball lockout was the ninth work stoppage in Major League Baseball history. It began at 12:01 a.m. EST on December 2, 2021, after MLB owners voted unanimously to enact a lockout upon the expiration of the 2016 collective bargaining agreement between the league and the Major League Baseball Players Association. It ended on March 10, 2022, with the signing of a new agreement. Issues raised between the league and union involved compensation for young players and limitations on tanking to receive higher selections in the MLB draft.
On March 1, 2022, following over a week of daily negotiations between the two sides, and three months of on and off negotiations, MLB cancelled the first two series of the regular season. MLB and the MLBPA reached an agreement on a new five-year CBA on March 10. The new CBA salvaged the full 162-game 2022 season by delaying Opening Day from March 31 to April 7, with originally cancelled games to be made up during the season.
The 2021–22 lockout was the first MLB work stoppage since the 1994–95 strike and the first lockout of the players since 1990. This was the second interruption of regular season play in three seasons, with the 2020 season having been delayed and shortened in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Background
s between Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association, the labor union, business, and charitable foundation of MLB players, are typically ratified on a five-year basis, with the most recent CBA ratified on December1, 2016. MLB and the Players Association operated under the terms of the CBA until 11:59p.m.EST on December 1, 2021. The CBA affects all of the economic aspects of an MLB season, including the length of the season, the per diem that players may receive on a road trip, and the semantics of both free agency and salary arbitration. The most recent prior MLB work stoppage was a strike that lasted from 1994 to 1995 and resulted in the cancellation of the 1994 World Series. The last time the owners had initiated a lockout of the players was 1990. The most recent prior dispute between MLB and the players' union was in, as players and teams debated how to restructure a season affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.File:2016 MLB at Fort Bragg 160703-A-AP748-180.jpg|left|thumb|Tony Clark ', executive director of the players' union, with Lt. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend ' and Rob Manfred , the Commissioner of Baseball, in 2016
Player demands
In a November meeting, the MLBPA drafted a proposal for the upcoming CBA with a number of demands that would expand player control over the terms of their contract, particularly for younger players, who are under control of the team that drafts them for the first six years of their professional baseball career. Of particular concern to the players' union was the ongoing trend of tanking, in which teams trade or release productive players and become relatively inactive in free agency in the hopes that they will finish with a losing season and receive higher compensation in future MLB drafts. The union has argued that tanking reduces competitive integrity within MLB and incentivizes teams with no intention of winning games. MLBPA executive director Tony Clark also voiced a desire to create new systems that would increase compensation for talented young players, and the union vocally disapproved of implementing a salary cap.Owners' proposal
MLB's first proposal for a 2021 CBA was aimed at establishing narrower ranges for each team's combined salary, with a hard minimum of US$100million per team and an incremental luxury tax beginning at $180million. As negotiations continued, owners made three separate proposals to the players' union, all of which were rejected, and which contained a number of concessions to player demands. These included eliminating the requirement for teams to lose a draft pick when signing a free agent who rejected their qualifying offer; a draft lottery modeled after that of the National Basketball Association; a universal designated hitter; and increases to both the player minimum salary and the competitive balance tax threshold. MLB was also seeking an expanded postseason for the, which would allow 12 of the league's 30 teams to reach the playoffs, as opposed to the previous 10-team playoff field that was introduced in 2012.Negotiations
Pre-lockout
Many MLB teams, fearing the freeze in contract signings that would arise in a lockout, scrambled to sign prominent free agents at the end of November. More than $1.9billion in new contracts were signed during the free agency period before the lockout, including a one-day record of $1.4billion in contracts signed on December1.At 10:00a.m.CST on November 30, 2021, one day before the CBA was set to expire, the MLBPA made its economic proposal to MLB at the Four Seasons hotel in Irving, Texas. MLB owners and negotiators then discussed the proposal independently, and both sides reconvened at 3:00p.m. for additional negotiations. Talks resumed for seven minutes on the afternoon of December 1 before ending abruptly. The union rejected the league's proposal to drop certain demands, including alterations to the free agency process. Negotiations came to a halt when league representatives Dan Halem and Richard Monfort left the hotel. That evening, MLB owners voted unanimously to enact a lockout upon the expiration of the 2016 CBA.
December
The lockout officially began at 12:01a.m.EST on December 2, 2021, announced via a press release from Rob Manfred, the Commissioner of Baseball. It instituted a transaction freeze, including the postponement of the major league portion of the Rule 5 draft. It was the first year since 1920 to not have a major league phase of the Rule 5 draft, though the minor league phase went ahead as scheduled.As to not use their likenesses for commercial purposes absent a CBA, all official MLB properties removed imagery of active players, including player head shots, from their content upon its expiration. MLB.com was primarily publishing retrospective-based articles, while MLB Network eventually suspended all regular offseason studio programming in favor of only carrying documentaries and classic game broadcasts. As a show of solidarity, some players changed their avatars on social media accounts to the generic silhouette image being used on MLB.com.
January
The first meeting between the league and the players' union occurred over Zoom on January 13, 2022. The league offered a proposal which included pay increases for veteran players, performance bonuses, and several other changes on issues of tanking, expanding the playoff field, and use of a universal designated hitter. The MLBPA was unimpressed with the proposal, which explicitly did not address the issue of free agency eligibility and which prevented any player with fewer than three years of major league play from salary arbitration; previously, a select number of players who had spent two years in the league were eligible for arbitration.The parties met again on January 24. The MLBPA rejected most of the terms put forth by the league during the January 13 meeting.
The parties met for a second consecutive day on January 25. The league increased its proposed minimum salary to $615,000.
February
The parties met for a fourth time on February 1. In a counter offer, the players association lowered the bonus pool money that would be awarded to exceptional pre-arbitration performers from $105 million to $100 million.On February 3, the league requested a federal mediator to help resolve the lockout. The league also said they would not make a counter offer to the players association. One day later, the MLBPA rejected the league's request for a federal mediator.
On February 10, Manfred held a press conference, where he said that the league had "agreed" both to the implementation of a universal designated hitter and the elimination of draft-pick compensation for free agents who reject qualifying offers.
On February 18, the league announced that it had cancelled all spring training games through March 4.
MLB told the players' union on February 20 that the last day to come to an agreement and have the season start on time would be February 28 and that the games missed would not be made up.
Week of February 21
Beginning on February 21, in the final week before the league's self imposed deadline, the two sides began meeting every day in an attempt to start the regular season on time.During the February 23 meeting, the league proposed a bump in the leaguewide minimum salary to $640,000 in the upcoming season. The minimum salary would raise by $10,000 per season for the rest of the CBA.
On February 25, the league announced they had cancelled all spring training games through March 7. The February 25 meeting focused on the format for the lottery determining the draft order.
During the February 26 meeting, the union made a proposal that addressed key monetary issues.
Monetary issues were further discussed during the February 27 meeting. While there were fewer formal proposals in this meeting, both sides felt it was productive.
On February 28, the two sides held a marathon negotiating session that continued until the early hours of March 1. The two sides agreed to a 12-team postseason, something that was previously thought to be a major point of strife. While the session did not end in an agreement between the two sides, both sides were reportedly optimistic that an agreement could be reached soon thereafter. The league decided to move its self-imposed deadline for cancelling regular season games to 5p.m.EST on March 1.
Despite reports that the two sides were optimistic in coming to an agreement, they struggled to come to one during the March 1 meeting. During the negotiations, the league released statements to the press claiming that the union's tone had changed. The union, and several players on social media denied their tone had changed. The major disputes between the two parties centered around the luxury-tax thresholds, pre-arbitration bonus pool, and the minimum salary. The league made its "best and final offer" prior to the 5p.m. deadline. The players were extremely disappointed with the offer, with one union official saying "We are done. This was always plan." The union unanimously rejected the offer. The two sides then ended their negotiations. In a press conference immediately thereafter, commissioner Rob Manfred officially announced that the first two series of the regular season had been cancelled.