Opening day, new rules after lockout
After a 99-day lockout, Major League Baseball teams and the players union have come to an agreement on a collective bargaining agreement that will pave the way for the 2022 season to begin.
Now that the labor dispute has been resolved, we can examine some of the ramifications of the agreement on the upcoming season. Despite the extended negotiations that caused the cancellation of the first two weeks of spring training games, the deal ensures that there will be a full 162-game regular season.
For baseball fans, here are some of the most important issues that will affect them:
When will opening day be?
Opening day has been pushed back a week to April 7 to allow for a shortened spring training period of a little more than three weeks.
The first week of games on the original schedule, which was supposed to begin on March 31, will be rescheduled as doubleheaders or played on teams’ mutual off days. Also, the doubleheaders will be a full nine innings, unlike the seven-inning doubleheaders MLB instituted during the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season.
The regular season will be extended by three days to allow all games to be made up.
When does spring training start?
Players have been reporting. However, some players who live outside the United States still need to go through the process of securing travel visas and could be delayed.
Teams have already opened up their spring training camps for minor league players, although members of the major league coaching staffs have not all been present.
Exhibition games will now begin with a handful of games on March 17 and the rest of the teams opening on March 18.
Even with the compressed time frame, teams should still have enough time to set their rosters for the start of regular-season play.