Lockout or Knockout
The lockout of the MLB has left many fans disappointed as the start of the 2022 season is postponed
Major League Baseball is in a crisis. Fans are impatient with the owners and players, but those running the show don’t seem to care. Where will Major League Baseball end up if this lockout doesn’t end soon?
I think if the lockout continues, the owners and players are going to do damage to their sport that they can’t turn around
— Coach Duncan
A lockout is when the baseball owners and players can’t agree on a certain topic, so the sport stops. For example, the lockout in 1994-95 was a disagreement about the owners proposing a salary cap which players did not appreciate. The 2021-22 lockout is due to the players and owners butting heads about free agency and salary arbitration, and profit sharing.
This lockout is the fourth in MLB history and the ninth stoppage in the sport. There have been a total of five strikes in baseball, dating back to 1972. The stoppage this year is the fourth owner-initiated lockout. Before this, the most recent lockout occurred in the 1994-95 season. It not only canceled 938 games but also the entire 1994 postseason, including the World Series.
Many fans are becoming impatient with billionaire owners arguing about money with millionaire players. Ironically, these team owners will actually lose more money if they do not come to an agreement soon.
“I have lost a little respect for everyone involved with keeping the lockout going,” sophomore Alex Newman said.
Many fans have threatened to not attend games or even watch the teams play on television. This lockout is not only losing fans, but it is also losing franchise viewership and money.
“I won’t be spending my hard-earned dollar on going to a game. If someone gives me tickets, I may still go because my wife loves to go to the ballpark,” Coach Noah Duncan said.
Going forward, many questions remain unanswered. Will spring training games be lost? Is the regular season schedule going to be cut short? Will there even be a MLB season at all?
“I think if the lockout continues, the owners and players are going to do damage to their sport that they can’t turn around,” Coach Duncan said.
The MLB have had several players and owners meetings but have made no headway. They need to figure out what the next step will be. Fans across the country are waiting in eager anticipation, hopeful this lockout comes to an end soon.
