Baseball field Photo: “Pixabay”
On Thursday, after negotiations between the owners and players of the Premier League Baseball (MLB) clubs, an agreement was reached on a new collective agreement, thus ending the 99-day lockout. According to MLB, the new contract is for five years and the season will start in April.
“I’m really excited to announce that MLB is back and we’ll play all 162 games,” said MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred. The season is scheduled to begin on April 14, two weeks after the original calendar. The games scheduled for this two-week period will be played during the season, with the matches being played.
The team training camps will resume on Friday, but the teams will be able to play the test matches from this weekend. This is the first time in 27 years that MLB hasn’t started on time.
The MLB also points out that the “play off” format has been extended, with six teams from each league (National League – NL; American League – AL) now taking part instead of the current five. The winners of the NL and AL regular championships will have their first round of play-offs free.
An agreement has also been reached on an international draft, which will replace the qualification offer system for free agents. The last “lockout” in MLB was in 1994, when all 938 games, the “play off” and the World Series were canceled. The winners of last season’s MLB World Series were the Atlanta Braves, who defeated Houston’s Eros 4-2 in the final series, winning their fourth title in history.
