March 9, 2022 was a bad day for Major League Baseball. Early in the day, there was hope that the lockout would soon end. Dates were floated-spring training camps could open by the end of the week, with Opening Day April 6 or 7. We saw the financial gaps between the players and owners shrinking, to a point where many started to believe. Then, the rug was pulled out once again. Whether it’s an international draft or compensatory picks given up for signing a free agent, there is no deal (for now). There is no plan for baseball’s return. Cue the rhetoric machine on both sides. That is not new.

Baseball is currently in its ninth work stoppage. Some have been long, others have been short. The disputed topics have ranged from the players’ pension fund to free agent compensation. The constant through all of them has been the acrimony, the public airing of the grievances to try to convince fans, media, and everyone who cares that it’s the other side’s fault. “The other side is being unreasonable, they’re greedy, they’re the reason your national pastime is not on the field.”

The first work stoppage in Major League Baseball took place late in spring training of 1972. It spilled into the first two weeks of the regular season. The issue was the players’ pension fund, and how much money should go in it. Have a look at some of the quotes from April 1, 1972, nearly 50 years ago to the day, from an article in The New York Post by Mike Vaccaro.

“This is not a strike over money,” Jack Aker, the player rep from the Yankees, said that morning in St. Petersburg, Fla., echoing a common theme the players have espoused for as long as there has been labor rancor. “This is merely an attempt by the owners to break the [union].” 

Tigers general manager Jim Campbell didn’t see it that way. 

“I think the players are damn greedy,” he said, echoing a common theme the owners have espoused for as long as there has been labor rancor. “This game has been pretty good to those guys, and I think baseball deserves better.” 

Said August Bush of the Cardinals: “I wouldn’t give a damn cent more to the players.” 

And Charlie O. Finley of the A’s: “The players have just shot the goose that laid the golden egg.” 

And commissioner Bowie Kuhn had this to say: 

“Obviously the losers in the strike action are the sports fans of America,” he said, echoing a common theme commissioners have espoused for as long as there has been labor rancor. 

Sound familiar? Here are some thoughts from former Union lead Donald Fehr, on how his predecessor, Marvin Miller, galvanized the union years before the strike in 1981. From Evan Drellich of The Athletic:

“He (Miller) had a very long, successful union background at a period of time in which unions were, as a general rule, much more prominent and respected than anybody in today’s generation would comprehend,” Fehr said. “Task No. 1 was to say, ‘OK guys, you need to understand what the facts are. You don’t know who makes how much money. You don’t know what your value would be if you could bargain with another team. You don’t have a say on the schedule. … You’re still paying for your own retirement plan out of your pocket. The minimum salary basically hasn’t moved in 20 years, and here’s the inflation numbers.’”

The schedule, bringing inflation into the discussion about salaries…where have we heard that before?

Moving to the strike of 1994-1995, The Associated Press quoted the owners’ chief negotiator, John Harrington, in December of 1994.

 “Due to the continued existence of this deadlock and the need to prepare for the 1995 season, the executive council today voted to exercise major league baseball’s right under federal labor law to implement the clubs’ final salary cap proposal, effective 12:01 a.m. EST, Dec. 23, 1994.″ – management negotiator John Harrington.

-″The 25 percent marginal tax rate proposed by the union is an illusion. It kicks in at a payroll level that is $8 million more than any club has ever paid.″ – owners’ statement.

“Implementing because of the existence of a deadlock” sounds like current Commissioner Rob Manfred when he imposed a “defensive lockout.” The tax rates and the spin around them sound quite a bit like like the current Collective Bargaining Agreement sessions.

The times have changed, and many of the people are no longer involved in baseball, or have passed away. But the words and the tone are remarkably similar. Here’s the Major League Baseball Players’ Association, from Bob Nightingale of USA Today, on the ongoing lockout and the cancellation of games:

Major League Baseball, of course, had to do its best to be sure that the public does not hold it accountable for the current situation.

The times have changed, the people have as well, but the similarity in hostility and tone between MLB and the MLBPA over the last 50 years is quite remarkable.

The issues remaining in the 2022 bargaining come down to the international draft, and the amount of money in the bonus pool. Somehow, the two sides have come together on the Competitive Balance Tax, but just when they did, a new issue (the draft) popped up. The rancor and mistrust are obviously contributing to the lack of an agreement. It’s hard to work together when you simply don’t trust (or like) the other side. Sadly, that’s one reason baseball is not on the field.

If it’s of any solace, this is not the first time baseball has experienced this problem.