The MLB started their spring season with all teams competing yesterday and today. Spring training started mid-March after the Union struck a deal to end the 99-day lockout on Mar. 10.
It was indeed a deal struck at the 11th hour as it was the last day before regular-season games were impacted. It was almost derailed due to another argument between the Union and its owners. However, they pushed past it and came to an agreement. This means games will continue as scheduled.
According to Forbes, in a press conference following the agreement, commissioner Rob Manfred said, “I am genuinely thrilled to be able to say that Major League Baseball is back and we’re going to play 162 games. I do want to start by apologizing to our fans. Looking forward, I could not be more excited about the future of our game.”
While fans are excited about the season, many questions are left unanswered. What has changed, and is the season going to be impacted?
The agreement is over 100 pages as the dispute had a lot of ground the Union wanted to cover. CBS sports outlines some key takeaways: there is no more rotating interleague play. There will be 56 games within the division, 60 games against the rest of the league, four games against “rivals,” and 42 other interleague games. This will lead to a more balanced schedule and more routine for the teams.
“The unbalanced schedule can wreak havoc on division races and cloud how we view teams. With this more balanced schedule, we’ll get a better read on every club’s true talent level,” said CBS Sports.
There will also be no more game 163 tiebreakers. Instead, they will be broken mathematically, giving teams a chance to rest and not play an extra and unnecessary game.
There will be more games in other countries as they go on tours in Asia, London, Mexico, Paris, etc.
The deadline dates have shifted a bit too. The original date is Jul. 31, and it has been moved in the past, “the new CBA gives commissioner Rob Manfred the ability to schedule the trade deadline anytime between Jul. 28 and Aug. 3,” said CBS Sports.
A more significant change is a new draft order for teams. The bottom six teams will now go in lottery order which is intended to be a deterrent from teams throwing games to get batter draft order.
Draft, follow and evaluates (or DFEs) after being removed in 2007.
“As part of the new CBA, teams retain a player’s rights until the next year’s draft as long as he goes to a junior college and was drafted after the 10th round. All others are subject to the signing deadline,” said CBS Sports.
One of the biggest and most contentious points for the Union was raising the minor league minimum salary.
“As part of the new CBA, the MLB minimum salary rose from $570,500 last year to $700,000 this year,” said CBS Sports. “It is the largest minimum salary increase in the first year of a new CBA in terms of total dollars in history.”
Some other changes are that there will be new option limits and new waiver rules, and in the upcoming months, they will continue discussing international trade.
Fans can see these changes slowly starting this season but entirely sticking in 2023. As for now, they can enjoy their baseball season as planned, with only the loss of that game 163 tiebreakers.
