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Jake Klausner
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MLB Lockout News
Long Feared Lockout Is Now A Reality
Well, after months of speculation, the MLB has finally done it. As of Thursday, Dec. 2, at 12:01 A.M. EST, the MLB has gone on lockdown. That means no more free-agent signings and players going through rehab cannot use the team facilities.
On Wednesday night, the collective bargaining agreement between the MLB and the MLBPA expired, leading to the game's first work stoppage in more than 25 years.
MLB also responded by taking down all of the players' images and likenesses on the website.
Players such as José Ramirez and Randy Dobnak took exception by changing their Twitter Profile Picture. Other players followed suit as well.
While many MLB players find humor in their current situation, the problem seems to be highly messy and far from over. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred issued a statement regarding the current lockout situation.
I'm not going to detail what was said, but he stated that the players are at fault for everything that's taking place at the moment. In other words, he's not taking any responsibility for his actions.
Trying to piece together what's going on in the lockout can be tricky, but there's only one reason for the disagreement between the owners and the players: money. Aside from expanding the playoff and changing arbitration, the main issue is that players want to get paid now rather than wait six years, which is the current situation now.
"They want the minimum wage to go higher, so they're making more money earlier in their career," said Tim Parenton, head baseball coach at the University of North Florida with multiple ties to Major League Baseball. "They don't want to play for 'pennies' and then get a late contract like Albert Pujols and some of those other guys. The owners tried to show some upcoming forward stuff by paying some young guys in the last two weeks pretty good salaries, and that thought that would sway them, but it didn't."
These negotiations have a lot to do with how expensive the free-agent market has been this off-season. In just the last few days of November alone, more than $1.7 billion was spent by various teams, making it one of the wildest free-agent periods in the history of the sport.
The owners show they are willing to pay them the money, but the players want to get paid in advance when they are younger and in their prime.
"That's where the owners are hedging on that. They don't want to give it early because of the longevity; they want guaranteed contracts, and the owners don't want to do that," said Parenton.
I know this lockdown is confusing, but there isn't any other way of explaining it. No one knows what the outcome will be or how long the lockdown will last. One thing for sure, the MLB Winter Meeting that was supposed to commence next week will not happen, at least the Major League portion.
No one is certain whether or not Spring Training will be affected within the league. As I mentioned earlier, the MLB hasn't had a work stoppage in more than 25 years, with the last one almost killing the sport altogether.
With the uncertainty surrounding the owners and the players, we don't know what will happen. Manfred isn't making things easier, as he quickly blames others (the players) for his wrongdoings. It doesn't seem like he has a firm grasp on the sport itself.
The bottom line is that players want to get paid in advance rather than wait six years. "It's all about the money now and not later," Parenton said.
Jake Klausner covers all things sports for ThePyrrhic.com. Keep your eyes peeled for NFL Analysis, MLB, and more from Jake. Follow him on Twitter @jake_klausner Want more Sports content? Check this out:
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