Baseball is Back!!!!!
From the beginning of December, Major League Baseball was on a lockout. The players and the teams were completely separated and unable to communicate as the Player Union and the Team Owners negotiated a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. Essentially, this means every couple of years the agreements to play the game of baseball between the actual players and the owners of their teams expires and the two sides end up having to negotiate renewed terms to playing and working. This year, the agreement was expected to be highly debated and take a while for the players and the owners to come together. Both sides had specific demands and stipulations to agree upon for the post COVID era. Basically and all in all, the players want to be paid more and the owners want to pay them less.
Through December, January, February, and half of March, the baseball world waited in agony and boredom as the two sides sluggishly came to agreements. Through February and March, news constantly broke of the two sides meeting and not coming to an agreement. It became a frustrating rollercoaster ride as weeks of Spring Training slipped away and the original Opening Day of the regular season grew closer. I really expected the lockout to last past March 31 into April and erase weeks and months of the regular season.
However, finally on the 92nd day of the lockout, in mid March, a couple of weeks before the originally scheduled start of the season, the new Collective Bargaining Agreement was reached and it was announced that Spring Training could start up immediately and the regular season would only be delayed by 2 weeks. All in all, this delay was nothing as baseball players, fans, and teams rejoiced and reunited. Now, baseball is coming, spring training is popping, and the excitement for the game that defines the spring and summer in America is back. It’s going to be an exciting year.
The Philadelphia Phillies, my favorite team, has spent money in the past few weeks on power hitting players like Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos, adding to an already potent lineup that includes Bryce Harper, JT Realmuto, Rhys Hoskins, and Didi Gregorgious. Pitching will be the less reliable part of the Phillies baseball team but they retain starters Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola who should be the team’s aces this year. This team has not made it to the MLB playoffs in 10 full seasons. This year, the Phillies must make the playoffs or it will be a highly disappointing season for their fans. It has been a long success drought for a city that holds such high standards for its professional sports team.
Throughout the rest of the league, there are some other really exciting looking teams and players. One of the Phillies’ biggest competitors, the New York Mets, have spent even more money than the Phillies on their payroll. They have hitters like Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso, Starling Marte, and Robinson Cano. The Los Angeles Angels are going to be another exciting team to watch with defending AL MVP and Pitcher/Hitter Shohei Ohtani. Also excitingly returning this year for the Angels is the greatest baseball player of all time, Mike Trout. The defending World Series Champions, the Atlanta Braves should be interesting to watch as their franchise transitions on from their franchise player Freddie Freeman who is now playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers. All in all, the return of baseball is going to be very exciting and successful in America. I am really looking forward for the new season to get underway.
Caden Hendrickson — Juniata College Jr. — IMA + Marketing
