After a 99-day lockdown, MLB's labor and management sides finally reached a temporary agreement on a new collective agreement, and the new season will begin on April 8, and the two sides finally saved a 162-game regular season season at the last minute.
Ending the second-longest-running shutdown in history, spring training will begin over the weekend, the free agent market will open in no time, and baseball is finally back to normal.
In fact, this week's negotiations have not been very smooth, although the differences between labor and management have been narrowing, but yesterday, the management side suddenly proposed an international draft, for a time to let the negotiations fall into the freezing point, at that time, in the case of two series that have been cancelled, the next two series are also facing the situation of being canceled. Finally, it was only after concessions on the most critical issue, the luxury tax, that the interim agreement was reached.
On the players' side, the final vote of the eight executive committee members and representatives of 30 teams was 26-12, which was thrilling.
As in the past, the new collective bargaining agreement still covers everything, but the most important thing is money. The two most critical items , the luxury tax line and the minimum wage , are more in favor of the labor side's final proposal, which will be raised from $230 million to $244 million in five years, and the minimum wage will rise from $570,000 last year to $700,000 this year, and as high as $780,000 in the final year of 2026.
The playoffs will expand again after a decade and enter the 12-team playoff era. In addition, like the NBA, players' jerseys will be advertised for the first time, and there will be hit helmets.
Other changes include: 1. The league will have 45 days to adjust the rules, including setting the pitching clock, whether to ban the movement of defensive positions, and whether to increase the base pack in 2023.
2. The League of Nations will also adopt a designated strike system.
3. The top six picks will be decided by lottery, and a team can't draw this draw for several years in a row, which can avoid the repeated pendulum of the team.
4. Give draft rights compensation to players who have won individual honors to prevent the team from maliciously manipulating the player's service life.
5. Limit the number of times a team can delegate minor leagues in a single season (5 times).
Looking back at this epic pull, more than a month before the shutdown, almost no one talked about it, after the closure of the museum on December 1, it was the Christmas holiday and the New Year, but the spring training given started in mid-February. In February, the two sides began negotiations, starting with a weekly talks, and it was not until the end of February that daily negotiations began, and substantive progress began.
In the last decade, MLB's income has increased, but the money distributed to players has decreased, which is why labor negotiations collapsed in the first place. Although there is a tentative agreement, it seems that the two sides have not fully reached a settlement, and this collective agreement is only a shot of painkiller to avoid the expansion of losses.
Although a large number of free agents rushed to sign before the suspension, there are still a number of major league first-line players such as Carlos Correa, Freddie Freeman, Crayton Keshaw and Chris Bryant who are still free. The athletic also has two nooks of infielders and three pitchers waiting to sell.
Although baseball did not return as scheduled on April 1, the good news is that the results are not bad, and I hope that the players can use five years of wonderful games to eliminate the bad effects of this ugly winter.
(Text/Geng Haoyang)