Why is MLB "Likely" Headed For A Lockout?
Is baseball trying to stick its players with the bill for declining local TV revenues?
One of my favorite YouTubers to toss on in the background and keep up with the world of sports media and business is Brodie Brazil, the longtime Bay Area broadcaster and host. But I wasn’t happy to wake up Tuesday and watch Brodie talk about this development looming over the start of baseball season, as pitchers and catchers began reporting to Spring Training:
In recent years, MLB seems to be the league most hell-bent on infighting between owners and players, including disputes over slow free agency in the late 2010s, acrimony over player pay and a shortened schedule during the COVID-19 season in 2020, and the tense, last-minute dealmaking that barely kept a lockout from costing games before the 2022 season. So in some ways, it’s not surprising to hear that another skirmish is on the way soon.
But that still doesn’t make the prospect of another exhausting baseball labor struggle any more palatable. And this time, the fight feels more existential than ever — touching on the fundamental economics of the sport itself.
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