Thursday Evening Update: The players and owners have reportedly reached an agreement, paving the way for an April 7 start to the season. The deal is subject to a vote Thursday evening before it is finalized. Details here: https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-mlbpa-agree-to-cbA
Major League Baseball’s opening day was moved back for a second time, and will occur no earlier than April 14. The league pushed back its opening because of the continued failure of its negotiations with players to end the lockout that began when the collective bargaining agreement between the players and owners expired in late 2021. The latest round of cancellations wipes out what would have been the second and third series’ of the season for MLB teams, after the first two were cancelled earlier this month.
“Because of the logistical realities of the calendar, another two series are being removed from the schedule,” says Commissioner Rob Manfred, in a statement on the negotiations issued Wednesday night. “[This means that] Opening Day is postponed until April 14th. We worked hard to reach an agreement and offered a fair deal with significant improvements for the players and our fans. I am saddened by this situation’s continued impact on our game and all those who are a part of it, especially our loyal fans.”
With this second pushback, a total of 184 games have been eliminated from the league’s schedule, the third time in league history that labor a labor dispute has cost more than 100 games – joining the 1981 strike (713 games) and 1994 strike (938 games – including the playoffs and World Series). Individual clubs have lost between 11 and 14 games cancelled. Most teams have decided to honor tickets purchased for what would have been the original Opening Day home game on whatever the new Opening Day winds up being once the dispute is resolved.
“Players want to play, and we cannot wait to get back on the field for the best fans in the world,” reads a statement from the Major League Baseball Players Association issued after the announcement. “Our top priority remains the finalization of a fair contract for all Players, and we will continue negotiations toward that end.”
As they have from the beginning of the lockout, teams have continued to put tickets on sale for the coming season, despite the games having no guarantee of being played due to there being no CBA in place.
