Major League Baseball’s lockout ended Thursday when a divided players’ union voted in favor of the managers’ offer to salvage the entire 162-game season, which opens April 7.
The owners approved the five-year labor contract, by 30 votes to zero, and the Major Leagues formally declared the strike lifted at 7:00 p.m., on its 99th day.
“I’m genuinely excited to say that Major League Baseball is back and we’re going to play 162 games,” commissioner Rob Manfred said. “I want to start by apologizing to our fans. I know the last few months have been difficult.”
The payroll freeze in the Major Leagues, imposed since December 2 with the start of the strike, was immediately dissolved. This would allow Freddie Freeman, Puerto Rican Carlos Correa and more than 100 players who have declared themselves free agents to sign contracts.
Training camps in Florida and Arizona will open their doors this Friday. Players will be required to report on Sunday.
On March 17 or 18, preseason games will begin.
Fans can start making plans to go to Fenway Park, Dodger Stadium or Camden Yards as early as next month. The opening day will take place just over a week after March 31, the date originally planned.
The agreement will lead to several changes in baseball — the adoption of the designated hitter in the National League, an expanded postseason and measures to discourage cases in which clubs dismantle and lose countless games when they no longer have a chance to seek the playoffs.
Much of the labor struggle centered on economic issues that are central to the sport.
The 184 games Manfred declared canceled were only postponed. The regular campaign will extend three days, to the fifth of October.
Approximately three matchups per team will be played as part of doubleheaders.
The new collective bargaining agreement will also expand the playoffs to 12 teams. The minimum wage will increase from $570,500 to about $700,000 and the luxury tax on payrolls will rise from $210 million to about $230 million this year, giving top-spending clubs more leeway — like the Yankees, Mets, Dodgers and Red Sox.
A new bonus fund was also established for players who do not yet qualify, which would allow for salary increases for young stars.
