Fans and players of Major League Baseball were let down on March 1st 2022, as it was official that opening day will not be happening on it’s originally scheduled date, March 31st. Along with that, spring training has not been able to begin yet for the upcoming season. The culprit behind this delay? The MLB lockout.

This lockout in the MLB began when Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Player’s Association could not agree upon a collective bargaining deal. The previous deal expired on December 2nd, 2021 without a new deal being made. Since the MLB and MLBPA were not able to create a deal, it sent the league into a lockout. A lockout has happened 9 times in the history of the MLB, the last happening in 1994. This lockout cancelled the entire postseason for that season. Now, with another one happening it is unknown how many more games could get cancelled on top of the ones that already have been.

The lockout’s biggest and most important effect is that players and teams are not allowed to work together. This means that spring training has not been able to start and now games are starting to get cancelled. Players have not been allowed to get together with their team yet, which has been very disappointing for them. The players have been looking to take the field for a while now, and this lockout has stopped them from being able to do this. Another big side effect for players is that they cannot get paid during the lockout. The players have expressed a lot of their frustration on social media about the situation. Chicago Cubs outfielder Ian Happ took his thoughts to Twitter, saying that he is “considering becoming a barista.”

One other big issue with the lockout is how it affects transactions in the MLB. Free agent players are not allowed to sign with a new team during the lockout period. Along with this, teams cannot trade with each other. This means teams cannot get new players to improve their roster, or invest in new young talent.

The fans are also very disappointed when it comes to the lockout. The fans were looking forward to a early opening day this year, especially after previous schedules were messed up due to COVID-19. They also have been sad to not be able to see their favorite players begin practicing in spring training. Also, fans have been disappointed to not see their favorite teams improving their roster to try and make a run at a World Series.

So, this lockout has led to much frustration from both players and fans. Negotiating has been taking place between the MLB and MLBPA in the past few months, but not much progress has been made towards making a new deal. Now, each teams first two series have been postponed for the season and the earliest the season could start is April 8th.