The opening day is ruined as Major League Baseball has canceled more games in the 2022 season due to ongoing contractual disputes between team owners and the players’ union.
The 15 matches scheduled for what was supposed to be Opening Day, March 31, have been canceled. The new opening day is now scheduled for April 14, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.
Team owners and the Major League Baseball Players Association, or MLBPA, spent hours this week trying to sign a new contract, Manfred said. But without success.
“Unfortunately, after our second night’s negotiation session in a week, we were left without an agreement,” Manfred said, adding that the team owners “did their best to meet the substantial demands of MLBPA “.
Players’ union leaders sent team owners “a set of comprehensive proposals” on Wednesday afternoon and have had no response since, MLBPA said in a statement.
Statement by the Major League Baseball Players Association: pic.twitter.com/XLnAvwkFpm
– MLBPA Communications (@MLBPA_News) March 10, 2022
The league’s cancellation of opening day games was “completely unnecessary,” the MLBPA also said. The 15 canceled games are added to the first two series of games Manfred left. The two series were canceled after the team’s owners and players were unable to reach an agreement in Florida last month.
MLB players signed a five-year contract with the league in 2017, but that collective agreement expired on December 2nd. Without a contract, players enter the season without specifying the legal terms governing their pay and working conditions.
After leaving Florida, both sides flew last week to New York, where the league is headquartered. Negotiations resumed on Tuesday. One of the biggest drawbacks in this recent round of talks is the league’s proposal for a draft of international players, which the union opposes, CBS Sports reported.
More canceled matches means more lost ticket sales at the stadium, along with lost revenue from dealership stands and merchandise stores. And so players can receive only a fraction of the annual pay they enjoyed last season. According to last year’s salaries, which amounted to just over $ 3.8 billion, MLB players will lose a total of $ 20.5 million for each day removed from the regular season calendar of 186 days. the Associated Press reported.
It is unclear whether fans who purchased opening day tickets will receive refunds or be able to use them on April 14th. MLB did not respond to a request for comment from CBS MoneyWatch on prepaid tickets.
MLB has spent almost 100 days in a lock imposed by the owner. Players and owners have been arguing about a number of issues, the main one being the salary.
MLB generated a record $ 10.7 billion in revenue in 2019, according to Forbes. But that figure reached about $ 4 billion in 2020 due to Coronavirus pandemic. The average salary of the MLB player in 2021 was $ 4.1 million, almost 5% less than in 2019, according to the Associated Press.
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