Major League Baseball is continuing its first work stoppage in more than 25 years after locking out its players in the early hours of December 2nd. Little progress was made after months of discussion on a new contract. 

In the final week of bargaining, like the other talks, the league and union traded proposals that left each side baffled. The final negotiations between the two sides lasted a total of seven minutes. 

The long-awaited lockout, which the players’ union had been told would start once the previous bargaining agreement ended on December 1st, concluded the signing, wheeling, and dealing fever that happened until its enforcement.  

The lockout prevents teams from communicating with players in any way. The MLB’s free-agent period and 40-man roster transactions end immediately. 

Francis Lewis High School varsity baseball coach Steven Michelman said, “I think that the MLB lockout comes at a really bad time. I understand both sides of the argument coming from the owners and the players, and there are changes that should be made that could make the game better. I also see that it appears that people, and especially kids, are paying more attention to other sports like basketball. I hope that the MLB can resolve the lockout quickly and make good decisions. If there is an extended lockout and the season is affected, I think it would be hard to recover from that.” 

WJPS senior Julien Prasso said, “I think the players union and the MLB should’ve been able to come to some sort of agreement, and hopefully, the lockout will be lifted soon.”

The MLB and the player’s association  will try to agree before spring training begins, which is scheduled to begin in the middle of February in 2022.

Photo: “Foul Ball” by Scott Ableman is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0