Subscribe
Cassius Life Featured Video
CLOSE
MLB Lockout Ends After MLBPA & Owners Finally Reach Agreement On Day 99

Source: Icon Sportswire / Getty

Baseball fans rejoice. There will be Major League Baseball played this year. 

For those who didn’t know, there has been an MLB strike going on that has lasted almost 100 days, threatening to keep us from enjoying America’s favorite pastime this summer. Well, that crisis was avoided on day 99 when the owners and MLBPA (Major League Baseball Players Association) reached a new CBA agreement.

Per CBS Sports, the union voted to approve the new proposal by a 26-12 margin, a simple majority (20 votes) was needed for the proposal to pass, so it didn’t matter that eight people voted against it. On the owner’s side, it was a 30-0 vote, basically meaning they just wanted this strike to end and get back to just owning their teams.

So here’s what was agreed upon per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthall:

  • CBT threshold: $230 million in 2023 and peaks at $244 million in final year of CBA
  • CBT penalty tier: the introduction of a new tier that starts at $60 million past the threshold (the highest tier used to sit $40 million above the threshold);
  • Minimum salary: $700,000 and peaks at $780,000 in final year of CBA;
  • Pre-arb bonus pool: $50 million
  • Postseason format: 12 teams
  • National League is implementing the DH rule.

Other new rule changes include a “pitch clock” to help speed up gameplay and restrictions on defensive positioning. There will also be bigger bases used for players’ health and safety. Also, agreed-upon teams will now be able to put advertisement patches on their uniforms and decals on their helmets to create a new revenue stream. To curb tanking, the CBA agreed to a six-team draft lottery.

It didn’t look too good for the 2022 season when Commissioner Rob Manfred announced he was canceling the first two weeks after talks hit a snag. Opening Day was initially scheduled for March 31 but has been moved to April 7. The MLB will make up the lost games through off days and with doubleheaders. The 99 day MLB work stoppage was the first since the 1994-95 players strike.

It’s time to PLAY BALL!

Photo: Icon Sportswire / Getty