SARASOTA, Fla. — The clock is ticking for Major League Baseball as there's no end yet to a lockout that started last year and is now nearing day 80.
With almost a week until spring training games were originally scheduled to begin, schedules are up in the air.
Players and fans had hoped to be able to walk into fields like Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota for some spring training action. But, in the week that teams were supposed to start arriving, gates are chained up and everyone is locked out.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred and team owners went into a lockout after the end of a collective-bargaining agreement between the league and the MLB Players Association. Manfred froze all offseason activities and transactions including workouts and spring training games.
Hundred of spring training games were scheduled to begin in the last week of February but the ongoing lockout has delayed that plan. Subsequently, the MLB Opening Day, which was set for Mar. 31, appears likely to be pushed back pending a resolution to the stalemate. Several talks between the league and the players' union leadership hit a snag after the union rejected calls for mediation to help bring an end to the lockout.
The lockout has so far not only impacted the teams but is poised to impact revenue that is expected to come from fans. Several teams were scheduled to begin playing spring training games in the Tampa Bay area but if things are not resolved soon, many local businesses and organizations could lose out.
"Instead of pitchers and catchers meeting and being here today, there's attorneys and accountants meeting on behalf of the two sides," said Patrick Calhoon, professional baseball franchise liaison for Sarasota County. Calhoon has worked with teams on behalf of Sarasota County for decades.
MLB champions Atlanta Braves hold their spring training camp at the CoolToday Park in North Port while the Baltimore Orioles use the Ed Smith Stadium. All their fans, many of whom come down from the north, are now all in limbo.
"If I was living in the north and wanted to come down, I would be pretty disappointed. The players and the owners are really pretty far apart," said Terry O'Brien of Sarasota.
O'Brien is an avid baseball fan and attends several spring training games in the Tampa Bay area.
"This is the third year now that we have had a problem, the first year was with COVID and then last year we had distancing, and now we have got this situation. So, really, spring training has really been hampered for three years," said O'Brien.
Owners and workers of nearby businesses, some of which are only now starting to recover from the lull of the pandemic, were all looking forward to spring ball and the traffic it would bring in through their doors.
"I just heard people talking about this team a lot and that they'll be here every February and 'blah, blah, blah,' but now they're not here yet," said Angie Perain, a hostess at Siam Gulf restaurant which is next door to the Ed Smith Stadium.
"I'm like OK, I just can't wait to meet them."
The uncertainty with the lockout would also impact the paychecks of some in the fire department, EMS and law enforcement. Many would usually benefit by covering game shifts for an opportunity to log in some overtime hours.
"They are all on payroll, ready to go to work. How that's disseminated if games are canceled, that's obviously going to probably have an impact," said Calhoon.
According to Visit Sarasota's Virginia Haley, "The Orioles have generated over $511 million in economic impact in Florida since 2015, along with more than $11 million in tourism-focused media throughout Sarasota County." VSC estimates the Braves arrival would add another $1.7 billion to the area with its 30-year lease.
"Once it's resolved, there'll be games. I'm sure there'll be games, just like 1995," Calhoon said.
Calhoon also said the good thing about this lockout was that the negotiations have been cordial and there has been no talk of minor league players filling in. He believes a resolution is coming soon but fans would have to be patient.
Major League Baseball has had several lockouts. The league and the union negotiated the first collective bargaining agreement back in the late 60s. The first owner lockout was in 1973 but the regular season was not impacted. A similar lockout situation played out again in 1976.
However, in 1990, the regular season was pushed back over another lockout. Calhoon said the players' strike in 1995 became very contentious because replacement players were brought in for spring training.
"The fact that they're not having that, they're not having the replacement games is a very good move for the owners and good for the game because all it did was fuel the fire with fans saying, 'I'm paying the same price to come in and watch someone who's never going to play in the big leagues once they sign the agreement,'" he explained.
Calhoon said the 1995 lockout discouraged many fans, and the league saw about half the capacity of spectators at most of the games.
Fortunately for the league and the game, the 1998 home run chase between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa eventually brought more fans back to baseball, according to Calhoon.