MLB players are the biggest winners according to Jeff Passan. (0:57) Some wondered about a stark division within the leadership of the Major League Baseball Players Association after the vote that ended the league's 99-day lockout. Tony Clark, in his ninth year as MLBPA executive director, disagreed with that characterization, saying the vote demonstrated healthy dialogue and conversation and praising the gains the union made through the drawn-out negotiations. Each player, player reps, the teams that they represent, the executive subcommittee, all had a common goal in improving the system at the end of the day. All eight members of the executive subcommittee voted against MLB's final proposal, but 26 of the 30 team representatives were in favor of a new collective bargaining agreement. Clark and Bruce Meyer expressed satisfaction over gains in the minimum salary and competitive balance tax threshold, as well as the introduction of a $50 million pool for players. Provisions designed to curb tanking and service-time manipulation are two of the union's foremost goals in negotiations. If a player finishes in the top two in the rookies of the year voting, they will get a full year of service time, regardless of when they were promoted. Will that be enough to encourage competition? Meyer said that all of this is a process over time. The league was against us on that. We don't expect that problem to be completely eliminated, but we are hopeful that it will be better than it is now. At 6 p.m., the Collective Bargaining Agreement was approved. About an hour later, the trade and free-agent markets will open. The opening day of spring training will be later than originally planned because players are required to report by Sunday. There will be a full season and a 12-team playoffs. The league and its 30 owners have made a number of gains, including the expanded playoffs, a shorter window to implement rule changes, and the ability to place advertisements on uniforms. March 11 is the voluntary report date for spring training.
March 13: Mandatory report date
March 17: Spring training games begin
April 7: Opening Day
Clark said the union entered the negotiations seeking a fair and equitable deal and credited the players for their engagement in securing one. Meyer described the process as a long, hard labor fight against a powerful adversary committed to maintaining the status quo or making it worse for players.
There were tradeoffs and we always knew change would be gradual.
The tension between the owners and players dates back to the ratification of the previousCBA in 2016 which paved the way for an era rife with tanking, service-time manipulation and cost efficiency that prompted player salaries to decrease at a time of booming league revenues. The bitterness grew when the sides failed to come to a mutual agreement over the coronaviruses-shortened 2020 season.
The union wanted to put more money in the pockets of young players, diminish caps on big-market spending, and revive the middle class of free agency. The league didn't counter until August after their first proposal came in May.
The two sides went without talking for 43 days after the lockout was instituted.
After eight days of talks in Jupiter, Florida, the union relented on requests for free agency, revenue sharing, and eligibility for arbitration, leading to the postponement of opening day.
The league had imposed another deadline for Tuesday, this time threatening the full season, and agreed to higher thresholds, seemingly carving a path for a deal. The international draft, an unpopular mechanism for Latin American players who prefer a free market, took two days to navigate.
The union has until July 25 to decide if it will agree on a 20-round international draft for amateur players outside the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.
Clark said that he was not a fan of drafts in general, and that he had no problem repeating it publicly. If there is a high level of integrity and commitment to negotiate over the parameters, then we will have a good discussion about that. There are no plans to put further restrictions on players.
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