Since 1995, eight Major League Baseball strikes and lockouts have impacted the baseball season. When the MLB discovered a collective bargaining agreement expired, however, MLB owners locked out the MLB Players Association on Dec. 2, 2021. March 1, 2022 was set as the deadline to reach a new labor deal, but MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred disappointed millions of fans when he declared a deal had not been reached, and the first two series of all Major League Baseball had been canceled. The world is currently in a state of chaos, and the elimination of America’s favorite pastime would only perpetuate the havoc; thankfully, on March 10, the MLB reached an agreement for games to start on April 7. 

Players’ payrolls have decreased by 4% since 2015, and when the pandemic shortened the 2020 season from 162 games to 60 their salaries dropped by over twenty million dollars, so a new deal was bound to be made eventually. From an ethical perspective, however, money should play no factor in a career—especially athletics. Sports are pillars that support American culture and make people feel joy, which is a priceless profession; therefore, this lockout would not positively contribute to America. 

The cancellation of the first two series’ games were not the first disappointment for the 2022 season because spring training had already been canceled. Besides the fact that this will impact the teams’ performances, the training season is the first sign of spring. New Englanders long for warm weather after suffering through the bitter winters, so canceling a paramount aspect of the spring would only perpetuate winter depression. 

On March 1, Associated Press spotted Manfred golfing, and as the leading authority figure of the MLB, Rob Manfred should be taking a more active approach to ending the lockout. Manfred is calling this lockout a “defensive” action, but in reality, this was only breaking up a brotherhood between players. Furthermore, this lockout set a poor example for youth fans because it represented poor sportsmanship. 

The lockout finally ended on March 10 when the MLB and MLBPA reached a middle-ground. Owners and players agreed to a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, and there is also a new agreement with agents and scouting out prospective players. This was the second-longest shutdown in all of baseball, but it has felt like a lifetime. Players and fans are posting all over social media how ecstatic they are for the season to start, so April 7 cannot come soon enough.