If you think Major League Baseball’s season is too long, you’re not alone, and there’s a chance something could be done to change that in the near future.
Negotiations between the league and the MLB Players Association already are underway for a new collective bargaining agreement, as the current CBA expires on Dec. 1. And according to Newsday’s David Lennon, a proposal to shorten the season from 162 games to 154 has “gained momentum” of late.
MLB had a 154-game schedule until 1961, when the American League added eight more games to its schedule after welcoming two more teams. (The National League switched to 162 games the following season.) But returning to a 154-game slate obviously presents schedule challenges, and Lennon writes that a two- or four-game reduction also is possible.
Either way, it appears the MLBPA is pushing hard for a shortened season, as players have complained about grueling travel schedules that “can force teams to jump as many as three time zones on consecutive days,” Lennon writes.
The league has less incentive to accept a 154-game season, as more games mean more tickets sold and higher television ratings. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred addressed the pros and cons of shortening the season ahead of last week’s All-Star Game.
“Can something be done? Yeah, things can be done,” Manfred said, via Newsday. “There are ways to produce more off days in the schedule. Some of those have very significant economic ramifications that — if in fact we’re going down those roads — those economic ramifications are going to have to be shared by all of the relevant parties.
“You want to work less, usually you get paid less. But we are prepared to discuss the schedule issues and make proposals that are responsive to the ones that we’ve received from the MLBPA.”
Thumbnail photo via Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports Images
