By Jeff Poor
For the past three summers, my five-year-old son and I have taken a lengthy trip away from the friendly confines of Alabama.
In this seemingly short amount of time, we have found ourselves gravitating toward Major League Baseball parks. The first year, he was three years old, and we started small with Atlanta and Washington, D.C.
The next year, we got a little more ambitious by attending games at the ballparks of the Texas Rangers, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals, and Cincinnati Reds.
Having made that a hallmark of our adventures, we decided in 2026 to get very ambitious over 14 days. Somehow, we avoided rain-delayed games and made it to games at the parks for the St. Louis Cardinals, Minnesota Twins, Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Toronto Blue Jays, Cleveland Guardians, Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta Braves. And oh yeah, stops at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown and the Louisville Slugger factory in Kentucky.
My five-year-old has made baseball his thing. He can’t read yet, but he has the entire Atlanta Braves roster memorized from the players’ photos. He plays tee-ball, and our summer nights typically revolve around when the Braves are playing.
The hope is to continue the tradition in 2027. However, next season may not happen, at least as scheduled.
A work stoppage is threatening the 2027 baseball season. The existing collective bargaining agreement between the players and owners will expire on December 1, and the two sides could not be further apart.
Primarily, team owners are seeking a salary cap. Their justification is that it will cure some of the perceived competitive disparities. The owners argue that smaller-market teams are at a disadvantage compared to bigger-market teams.
A professional sports franchise in a big market like New York City or Los Angeles is about to generate more revenue through attendance and broadcasting rights than the teams in the smaller markets, like Kansas City or Miami. There are more people in the bigger cities, which means more ticket sales and ad revenue from greater advertising exposure, among other factors.
The other major professional sports leagues have implemented salary caps, which, at least in theory, prevent the rich from getting richer by allowing higher payrolls that would otherwise lure better players with bigger contracts.
The players’ labor union has rejected a salary cap. Any proposal that would limit the earning potential of its membership is a dealbreaker.
In addition to that opposition, the players’ union is insisting on a salary floor, meaning all 30 franchises would be mandated to have a minimum payroll.
Other issues include ownership efforts to radically change the minor league structure and expanding players’ access to free agency and salary arbitration.
Work stoppages in baseball are nothing new. Since 1972, there have been nine work stoppages, including five player strikes and four owner lockouts.
They have never been a good look for professional baseball in the eyes of the public — millionaires fighting with billionaires.
When stoppages led to the cancellation of games, including the entire 1994 season, it took years for baseball to recover.
Aside from the public-relations nightmare, television contracts are canceled. Efforts to resurrect pre-stoppage interest become much more difficult as the league and players basically start from scratch after a deal is reached.
Owners could threaten to bring on replacement players and attempt to have a season. But such endeavors have had limited success with MLB and other professional sports leagues.
As it stands now, is baseball suffering? After attending 11 games in 10 stadiums, fan bases seem to be shrugging off a looming shutdown. Even the weeknight games had big crowds relative to other years.
The alleged competitive imbalance is not showing up in the standings. At the trade deadline earlier this month, there were more buyers than sellers, meaning more interest in bringing on players for the short-term success of this season. There are more teams in reach of a playoff berth than in other years.
However, the trade deadline also showed that the big-market Los Angeles Dodgers were better positioned to acquire the services of Tarik Skubal, the now-former Detroit Tigers pitcher who was the top player available at the deadline.
As with any high-profile news event, a professional sports stoppage will likely attract the attention of the political opportunists. Major League Baseball is especially vulnerable given its antitrust exemption, which frees the league from complying with regulations intended to limit its market power.
In baseball’s case, Major League Baseball is permitted to operate free from the threat of a competing league over players. It has control over a minor league system that other professional sports leagues do not enjoy.
For now, the players and owners seem unfazed by the possibility of losing that advantage.
Prediction: In six months, this will be above-the-fold front page news. Perhaps the two sides will hammer out an agreement, but if the nuclear option is exercised, it might take a while to overcome the consequences.
