The agreement will extend MLB’s run since its last work stoppage to 21 years and means baseball’s top competition has avoided the fate of North American major league rivals the National Football League (NFL) and the National Basketball Association (NBA), which have both faced lockouts this year. Despite a three-month work stoppage, the NFL’s lockout ended in August, allowing the regular-season to proceed as planned. However, the NBA’s schedule through to mid-December has fallen victim to the stand-off in basketball’s top league, and it looks increasingly likely that the full season will be cancelled.
The existing MLB agreement, which was agreed in 2006, was due to expire on December 11. Although the new deal needs to be formalised in writing and ratified independently by the players and owners, these steps are considered formalities. The new CBA will see the minimum salary threshold increased from US$414,000 this year to more than $500,000 by the end of the agreement, but arguably the most significant changes will be the introduction of blood testing on human growth hormone and the expansion of the play-offs to 10 teams by 2013.
The deal will also introduce changes that owners hope will increase the competitive balance by pressuring large-market teams to reduce spending on amateur draft picks and international signings. In stark contrast to the NFL and NBA sagas this year, the MLB’s negotiations with its players’ union appear to have been conducted largely behind closed doors, away from the glare of the media, and with a minimum of fuss. The league’s talks over a new deal began in January with MLB Players Association executive director Michael Weiner, who took over from Don Fehr nearly two years ago.
Weiner said the “respect” MLB owners had shown for the players was a key reason for a deal being done without the need for a work stoppage. It is likely to be the final CBA sealed during MLB commissioner Bud Selig’s tenure as he has indicated he will not seek another term when his current contract expires at the end of 2012. Selig has now overseen three successive labour negotiations – for CBAs in 2002, 2006 and 2011 – without a work stoppage. Prior to Selig’s appointment, all eight CBA talks from 1972 to 1994 were blighted by strikes or lockouts.
“I am thrilled for the fans that the clubs and the players of Major League Baseball, together, have the opportunity to further build on our game's unprecedented popularity,” Selig said. “Labour peace has proven essential to the best interests of baseball and its millions of fans, who have attended our ballparks in historic numbers over the last eight years. During this remarkable era, we have seen outstanding competitive balance, record business performance and a seamless transition to the new modes in which fans want to embrace our sport. I truly believe the best is yet to come for the game we love.”
