Major League Baseball (MLB) has canceled Opening Day, with commissioner Rob Manfred announcing Tuesday that the sport will scrap regular-season games over a labor dispute for the first time in 27 years after acrimonious lockout talks collapsed in the hours before management’s deadline.
With owners and players unable to agree on a contract to replace the collective bargaining agreement that expired Dec. 1, Manfred canceled the first two series for each of the 30 teams, cutting each club’s schedule from 162 games to likely 156 at most. A total of 91 games were erased.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred
“My deepest hope is we get an agreement quickly. I’m really disappointed we didn’t make an agreement.” – Rob Manfred
Manfred said the league and union have not made plans for future negotiations and that players won’t be paid for missed games.
