MLB Cancels First Two Series Of 2022 Regular Season

MLB is cancelling the first two series of the 2022 regular season as their initial fear of a "disastrous outcome" has become a reality.

When MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and the owners opted to impose a lockout on Dec. 2 as a result of the expiring collective bargaining agreement, they acknowledged that losing regular season games in 2022 would be a "disastrous outcome."

Well, their initial fears have now become a reality. On Tuesday, March 1, exactly three months after the previous CBA expired and the work stoppage began, Manfred addressed the media in the early hours of the evening to announce the cancellation of the first two series of the season.

This comes after the owners and players union spent nine straight days trying to negotiate a deal in Florida. In fact, there was even some optimism on both sides as of yesterday morning that there was a path for a deal to get done after the previous day's negotiations stretched until 2 a.m on Tuesday. A high-ranking American League executive that was familiar with the situation was also confident that the two sides would be able to reach an agreement by yesterday's deadline, or if not, extend talks and strike a deal by Wednesday at the latest. 

However, things went south in a hurry later that afternoon. This led to MLB putting their "best and final offer" on the table, which remained far apart from the union's ask. 

MLB’s best, final offer before pulling down games, per MLBPA official:
• Pre-arb bonus pool of $30 million, up $5 million from before
• No change on CBT thresholds (220/220/220/224/230)
• Minimum salary starting at $700k, going to $740k over course of deal. PA starts $725k

— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) March 1, 2022

As a result, MLBPA rejected this offer, which led to the owners taking matters further by cancelling the first two series of the regular season. There are currently no set plans for MLB and MLBPA to go back to the table. Overall, it was one of the bleakest days for the game of baseball in recent memory, and there is no sign of a resolution at the moment. Not only is it concerning for baseball in the short-term, but the long-term as well. 

The players will not get paid for missed games, and the league claims these contests won't be rescheduled. This will likely cause additional arguments and even more tension when the two sides begin to regularly meet again. 

For the Mets, their first five games of the 2022 campaign have been axed. The Mets were scheduled to open up the season at home with a three-game series against the Washington Nationals, before a two-game set with the reigning World Series champion Atlanta Braves.

Mets fans who had tickets for Opening Day on March 31, will be able to attend the first ticketed game of the season, which is still to be determined. Those who have tickets for the game that will eventually become the first ticketed contest of the regular season cannot use their stub for admission on this day (See Ticket Policies).

Those individuals that had tickets to impacted games from April 2 to April 5, will instead receive credit to use towards a different game which is valid for either the 2022 or 2023 season. 

After MLB imposed the lockout in December, they did not begin the negotiating process with MLBPA until 43 days later. Now, the worst has occurred with the regular season being impacted. But this should not come as a surprise, the hostile discussions which resulted in a 60-game pandemic-shortened season in 2020, foreshadowed what was to come two years later when the CBA expired.

Whenever the 2022 regular season begins, it will be the second time in the last three years that there will not be a 162-game schedule. It's bad for baseball and there is no light at the end of the tunnel, for now. The hope is that talks will pickup again shortly, but again, nothing is scheduled as of yet.