MLB’s lockout is now three months old, is it time to start worrying about the season?

The baseball lockout began on December 2, 2020. The Major League Baseball (MLB) and Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) representatives had 119 days before the beginning of the regular season to figure out the new collective bargain agreement (CBA). Now just under 60 days away, the MLB and MLBPA are at a standstill. The MLB has recently asked for a federal mediator to help with negotiations, a move that has frustrated the MLBPA, which has put the season starting on time in jeopardy.

In normal times, baseball activity begins when the calendar flips from January to February. Teams are packing equipment and heading down to Florida for spring training, sorting visas out for foreign players and pitchers getting their last workouts in before heading down south.

But this year, that’s all on hold.

The MLBPA is prepared for an extended lockout, players have just received a $5,000 (£3,700) cheque for the month of February. But the difficulty for them is that they don’t know a starting date, so it is hard to plan that final ‘ramp up’ of activities before heading down for Florida.

During the shortened pandemic season in 2020, multiple players complained that the 24 days given to them was not long enough to ramp up activities ahead of playing baseball. In order to begin the 2022 season on time, at least four weeks of baseball is needed, according to league sources, which means for the season to start on time, spring training must begin by March 3.

Currently, there is no sign of a deal. The sides are meeting, but nothing meaningful is coming out of them.

By Alex Worth