First Two Series of MLB Season Canceled; League, Union Fail to Reach New Agreement

MLB canceled the first two series of the regular season after the league and MLBPA failed to strike a new collective bargaining agreement.

Author:
Chris Halicke
Mar 1, 2022 6:07 PM EST

The first two series of the 2022 Major League Baseball season, including Opening Day, have been officially canceled, commissioner Rob Manfred announced Tuesday. This comes after MLB and the MLB Players Association failed to strike a new collective bargaining agreement after many hours spent at the bargaining table Monday and Tuesday.

"We worked hard to avoid an outcome that is bad for our fans, bad for our players and bad for our clubs," Manfred told reporters in a press conference. "I want to assure our fans that our failure to reach an agreement was not due to a lack of effort by either party."

Manfred later added, "The concerns of our fans are at the very top of our consideration list.”

The MLBPA released a statement roughly an hour after Manfred made his remarks.

"Rob Manfred and MLB's owners have cancelled the start of the season. Players and fans around the world who love baseball are disgusted, but sadly not surprised.
From the beginning of these negotiations, Players' objectives have been consistent—to promote competition, provide fair compensation for young Players, and to uphold the integrity of our market system. Against the backdrop of growing revenues and record profits, we are seeking nothing more than a fair agreement.
What Rob Manfred characterized as a "defensive lockout" is, in fact, the culmination of a decades-long attempt by owners to break our Player fraternity. As in the past, the effort will fail. We are united and committed to negotiating a fair deal that will improve the sport for Players, fans and everyone who loves our game."

MLB had previously told the MLBPA the two sides needed to come to an agreement before they left Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Fla. on Monday. Otherwise, the league would begin canceling regular season games. Both parties engaged in bargaining sessions for over 16 hours on Monday, even after the calendar rolled over into March. Enough progress was made for MLB to extend its own deadline to 5:00 p.m. EST on Tuesday.

The most contentious issues remaining include the competitive balance tax, expanded playoffs, minimum salary, pre-arbitration bonus pool and salary arbitration. While progress was made on nearly all of these issues, Monday's meetings failed to produce any finalized agreements on any of them.

Any optimism from Monday failed to carry over into Tuesday. A league spokesperson said MLB believed "there was a path to a deal (Monday night) and that both sides were closing on in on the major issues." They also accused the MLBPA of having a "decidedly different tone" during Tuesday's negotiations.

Rob Manfred / Tony Clark — MLB commissioner Rob Manfred (left), MLBPA executive director Tony Clark (right)
Photos by Greg Lovett-USA TODAY NETWORK

The union dismissed any idea that the two sides were closing in on key issues. According to ESPN's Jesse Rogers, one union official denied any change in their tone, and added they were "never overly optimistic but agreed that there had been progress."

Ahead of Tuesday's 5 p.m. deadline set by the league, MLB offered its "best and final" offer, which the union unanimously rejected. The two sides will now return back to New York. No further bargaining sessions have been scheduled.

On Feb. 10, Manfred said missed games would be a "disastrous outcome" for baseball.

Tuesday was the 90th day of the owner-imposed lockout. It is the second-longest work stoppage in the history of the game. Only the 1994-95 players' strike—which lasted 232 days—was longer.

Texas Rangers Tickets

In light of the cancelation of the first two series of the season, the Rangers are offering full refunds to fans who purchased tickets for any canceled games at Globe Life Field through texasrangers.com.

Those who purchased tickets for the originally scheduled home opener on March 31 against the New York Yankees will be able to use those tickets for the new home opener, exchange that ticket for another game or receive a full refund.

If no more games are canceled, the Rangers season will begin on April 8 at Toronto with the home opener taking place on April 11 against the Colorado Rockies.