SUNDAY, MARCH 6 , 2022. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ SU D9
Baseball
A brief history of MLB work stoppages
Pitchers and catchers were set to report in mid-February, but instead Major League Baseball delayed the start
of spring training for the first time since the 1990s because of a work stoppage. Opening Day and the first two
series of the regular season already have been canceled. MLB has had nine work stoppages, and this is the fifth
to result in the cancellation of games. Here is a look at MLB’s history of labor strife. — Andrew Golden1972
The first players’ strike in MLB history occurred in 1972 because of
disagreements over MLB’s contribution to players’ pension plans and
salary arbitration. After missing the first week and a half of the
season, owners and players agreed on a $500,000 raise in pension
fund payments. The owners also agreed to add salary arbitration to
the collective bargaining agreement.
The season started April 15, but 86 games were canceled as a result.
The decision not to make up the missed games had an impact on the
end-of-season standings: The Boston Red Sox (85-70) missed the
playoffs after finishing a half-game behind the Detroit Tigers (86-70) in
the American League East.
WILLIAM SMITH/ASSOCIATED PRESS1973
A year after the players and owners agreed on salary arbitration, the
owners initiated a lockout over the issue. After 17 days, the lockout
ended with the two sides agreeing on a three-year deal that allowed
players with two years of consecutive major league service time to
settle contracts through arbitration.The lockout lasted from Feb. 8 to Feb. 25, so the start of spring
training was delayed but no games were missed.MEDIANEWS GROUP/OAKLAND TRIBUNE/GETTY IMAGES1976
Just three years later, another lockout was started by the owners, and
another quick resolution again meant no games were canceled. The
stoppage took place from March 1 to March 17 after owners lost their
right to the reserve clause, which had allowed teams to retain the
rights to their players upon the expiration of each contract.Arbitrator Peter Seitz granted two pitchers, Andy Messersmith and
Dave McNally, free agency, and federal judge John Oliver supported
Seitz’s ruling six weeks later. This paved the way for free agency, years
after Curt Flood’s initial challenge to the reserve clause was
unsuccessful. Commissioner Bowie Kuhn ordered that camps open,
ending the lockout before the start of the season.THE SPORTING NEWS/GETTY IMAGES1980
The players went on strike for the final eight days of spring training,
fighting to resolve several issues with the owners, including free
agency.
The two sides agreed on a temporary deal, addressing a handful of
issues but not free agency, which allowed the season to proceed in
full. The agreement tabled the free agency debate until the ensuing
season in 1981, which did not go well.
LEDERHANDLER/ASSOCIATED PRESS1981
After the issue of whether teams would receive compensation for
losing free agents remained unresolved, the players union agreed to
go on strike beginning June 12. The owners instituted a rule that
granted teams a draft choice and an unprotected player as
compensation for any free agent who left the team. The players union
did not approve, and the strike lasted for almost two months,
resulting in the cancellation of 713 games.Eventually, the season resumed after the two sides agreed to a deal in
which teams that lost premium free agents could select from a pool of
unprotected players on any MLB team instead of just from the team
that the free agent signed with. Free agency was granted to players
with six or more years of major league service. After play resumed,
the postseason field in 1981 was determined by split-season
standings, meaning first-place teams from before the strike faced off
against the first-place team after the strike in each of the four
divisions. The winners of those series determined who would advance
to the league championship series.JOE GIZA/ASSOCIATED PRESS1985
Similar to the first players’ strike in 1972, the 1985 strike was based
on a debate over salary arbitration and the pension fund
contribution by MLB owners. After brief discussions, the owners
agreed to contribute $33 million to the pension fund for each of the
next three years and then $39 million in 1989. Players’ minimum
salary also increased from $40,000 to $60,000 per year in the new
deal.The strike lasted two days, Aug. 6 and 7, and all but two of the 25
games scheduled for those days were made up later in the season.MARTY LEDERHANDLER/ASSOCIATED PRESS1990
MLB’s seventh work stoppage started Feb. 15 and lasted for just over
a month, forcing the sport to push back Opening Day by a w eek and
extend the season by three days to accommodate the full 162-game
schedule.
The dispute was similar to previous ones — an argument about
arbitration and free agency. The owners presented a pay-for-
performance scale for players with less than six years of experience
and a salary cap for each club that would allow teams to limit their
spending. The MLBPA didn’t agree to that plan, and the two sides
eventually agreed on a deal that increased the minimum major
league salary from $68,000 to $100,000.
RONALD C. MODRA/GETTY IMAGES1994-1995
After the previous collective bargaining agreement expired in
December 1 993 and owners proposed a salary cap in the next CBA,
players went on strike beginning Aug. 12, 1994. The two sides didn’t
reach an agreement to end the strike until April 2 of the following
year. The strike was the longest work stoppage in MLB history, lasting
232 days, and 948 games were canceled, including the 1994
postseason. MLB became the first major North American professional
sports league to lose an entire postseason over labor struggles, and
the World Series was not played for the first time since 1904.The 1995 season was shortened by 18 games, and players were
linked to the expired agreement until a new CBA was agreed upon. An
eventual agreement was reached in March 1997 after two seasons
under those conditions.OTTO GREULE JR./GETTY IMAGES2021-present
The current lockout started Dec. 2 after the previous collective
bargaining agreement signed in 2016 expired. Players are seeking
major systemic changes to the way they are compensated, and
owners are uncomfortable about conceding.With Opening Day and the first two series of the regular season
already canceled, the players union and the owners don’t appear to
be close to a deal.“I see missing games as a disastrous outcome for this industry,” MLB
Commissioner Rob Manfred said Feb. 10. “We’re committed to
making an agreement in an effort to avoid it.”In the end, it could not be avoided.JULIO AGUILAR/GETTY IMAGES