The inaugural games will not be played on March 31, major league baseball commissioner Rob Manfred announced Tuesday at 5:10 p.m.
For the first time since 1995, a labor dispute caused the cancellation of regular season games.
The first two series of meetings pass to the ax; there would therefore be a maximum of 156 matches per club this year.
Manfred said that there is no immediate date set for a resumption of negotiations.
“My biggest hope is that there is an agreement quickly, mentioned Manfred. I am really disappointed that there was no agreement. »
Players remain locked out and will not be paid for canceled games.
The lockout was in its 90th day on Tuesday.
All of this stems from the breakdown of the talks, in the hours before the deadline set by the leaders of the big leagues.
After very lengthy discussions on Monday, MLB made their “best” and “final” offer around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, the ninth day in a row of negotiations.
The MLBPA said no.
“The day was not particularly productive,” summed up Manfred.
The players’ union has said that they will remain united.
“Rob Manfred and the owners have canceled the start of the season, reacted the MLBPA, by press release. Players and fans who love baseball are disgusted but surprised, unfortunately. »
“In a context of growing revenues and record profits, we want nothing more than a fair deal. What has been described as a “defensive” lockout is actually the culmination of decades of landlords wanting to break up our brotherhood. Such efforts will fail, as in the past. »
This is the ninth labor dispute in major league history.
Regular season games have been lost on four occasions.
Already stricken by the pandemic and questions about the flow of games, major league baseball finds itself unable to divide the revenues of an industry estimated at $10 billion.
We will scrutinize even more the work of Manfred, in office since January 2015, and Tony Clark, the No. 1 of the MLBPA since the death of Michael Weiner, in November 2013.
The conflict had been brewing for years, with players unhappy with a 4% drop in payroll, from 2015 to the end of 2021, among other things. profit from young players costing less.
If more than 15 days of the season are lost, stars like Shohei Ohtani, Pete Alonso, Jake Cronenworth and Jonathan India wouldn’t get free agency for another year.
Earlier Tuesday, The Associated Press reported this about the parties’ positions:
Leaders are proposing to raise the luxury tax threshold from $210m to $220m in the next three seasons, to $224m in 2025 and $230m in 2026.
Players want $238M this year, $244M in 2023, $250M in 2024, $256M in 2025, and $263M in 2026.
For the prize pool to players not yet eligible for arbitration, the major leagues are offering $30M and the players $85M.
At the minimum wage level, MLB is offering $675,000 this year, players $725,000. The leaders are willing to increase the sum by $10,000 each season.
Major League Baseball wants the first five draft picks to be determined by a lottery.
There would have been common ground for a 12-club series, though.
Monday gave rise to 13 negotiating sessions and 16.5 hours of discussions.
Negotiators from both sides met Tuesday at Roger Dean Stadium, the Marlins and Cards training ground.
New York Mets star pitcher Max Scherzer and free agent reliever Andrew Miller were on hand for the talks.
Manfred said Monday was the last possible day to reach an agreement that would allow the necessary time to hold training camps, in order to start the season as planned.
The union replied that it did not necessarily agree with the delay.
Players train at non-major league facilities in Florida, Arizona and elsewhere.
The Grapefruit League and Cactus League matches were scheduled to begin on Saturday.
The first 86 games of the 1973 season were canceled by a players’ strike over their pension fund; the 1981 season was marked by a 50-day strike midway through the free agency campaign, leading to the loss of 713 games.
The strike that began in August 1994, over a salary cap, caused the cancellation of 669 games and delayed the start of the 1995 season by three weeks (where 144 games were played, rather than 162).