Tag: work stoppage

6 additional Red Sox games cancelled due to MLB lockout

The start of the 2022 Major League Baseball season has once again been delayed due to the ongoing owner-imposed lockout.

Eight days after cancelling each clubs’ first two series of the year, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred announced on Wednesday that two additional series have been removed from the league schedule. This means that Opening Day will be postponed until April 14 at the earliest.

“We worked hard to reach an agreement and offered a fair deal with significant improvements for the players and our fans,” Manfred said in a statement released by the league. “I am saddened by this situation’s continued impact on our game and all those who are a part of it, especially our loyal fans. We have the utmost respect for our players and hope they will ultimately choose to accept the fair agreement they have been offered.”

After negotiations fell through in Jupiter, Fla. last week, MLB and the players association re-convened in New York City this week in hopes of reaching agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement.

Due to a number of on- and off-the-field issues, though, it does not appear as if a new deal will be reached anytime soon, hence the move by MLB to cancel more games.

The ongoing work stoppage began on December 2 when the previous collective bargaining agreement expired and the owners locked out the players as a result. It is now in its 97th day.

For the Red Sox, this means that the first 12 games of the 2022 campaign have been axed from their schedule. Boston previously lost out on a six-game homestand against the Rays and Orioles to open the season and now lose out on a six-game road trip that included stops in Detroit and the Bronx.

So, in other words, the soonest the Sox’ regular season can begin is April 15 (Jackie Robinson Day)in the first of four against the Twins at Fenway Park on Patriots’ Day weekend. They have a scheduled off day on April 14.

With that being said, there is no guarantee that those games or the ones that come immediately after will take place. That all depends on how ongoing negotiations between MLB and the MLBPA go.

On that note, here is how the MLBPA responded to Wednesday’s series of events:

(Picture of Fenway Park: Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)

First 6 games of Red Sox’ 2022 season cancelled due to MLB lockout

The start of the 2022 Major League Baseball season has been delayed due to the ongoing lockout.

After nine consecutive days of intense negotiations in Jupiter, Fla. , MLB and the players association were unable to reach agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement by the league’s self imposed 5 p.m. eastern time deadline on Tuesday evening.

It has now been 90 days since the previous collective bargaining agreement expired on December 2 and the owners locked out the players as a result. Spring training games had already been cancelled, but with the aforementioned negotiating deadline come and gone, the league felt as though it could not start the regular season as scheduled on March 31.

More specifically, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred announced on Tuesday that the league has cancelled Opening Day as well as each team’s first two series of the 2022 season.

For the Red Sox, this means that their first six games of the year have been cancelled. The Sox were originally slated to host the Rays (March 31, April 2-3) and Orioles (April 4-6) in a pair of three-game series at Fenway Park to kick off their schedule.

Following Tuesday’s announcement, however, the earliest Boston’s season can begin is April 7, when they are scheduled to open a three-game set against the New York Yankees in the Bronx.

Of course, those games and the ones that come immediately after remain in jeopardy on account of the ongoing work stoppage. Manfred said the league and players union will not meet again until Thursday at the earliest, but those talks could drag on.

Regardless of that, any games that are cancelled because of the lockout will not be rescheduled, nor will players be compensated for them. This means that — at most — the Red Sox will play 75 home games at Fenway Park this season. It feels safe to assume that fans who purchased tickets for cancelled games will be eligible for a full refund.

(Picture of Fenway Park: Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)