Reports: MLB, MLBPA make crucial decision regarding season

After months of turbulent negotiations, it finally happened. Major League Baseball is back.

MLB and the MLB Players’ Association reached a tentative agreement Thursday afternoon, according to multiple reports. ESPN’s Jeff Passan was the first to report the news — after he got his Twitter account back, of course. Passan added the players’ vote was 26-12 in favor of the deal.

Rejoice, baseball fans.

Spring Training games are set to begin March 18, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, and Opening Day is now set for April 7. The goal is to still get all 162 games in via doubleheaders.

More importantly, free agency can restart Thursday night, according to ESPN’s Jesse Rogers. That means some big names will finally be able to decide where to play next season.

More on the MLB lockout

After failing to reach a new collective bargaining agreement, the MLB locked out its players on Dec. 2. In the 99 days since, the two sides have traded offers and counter-offers to no avail. Meetings most recently took place in Florida between owners and the players’ association.

As part of the deal, some rules are being changed — or, rather, being changed back to what they were pre-pandemic. Teams will no longer play 7-inning doubleheaders with runners on second base. Instead, they’ll be 9-inning doubleheaders with “normal” rules, according to Rogers.

MLB originally set a deadline of March 1 before it canceled regular season games, but later moved the deadline and will use doubleheaders to make up the lost time. That means baseball fans can expect a 162-game schedule — albeit a little later than they originally thought.

Fan frustration appeared to be rising as the lockout dragged on, and “Baseball Twitter” celebrated accordingly when the news broke. Now, those same fans will get ready to watch their teams prepare for the 2022 season and, come April, take the field for the regular season.