The new MLB Collective Bargaining Agreement ushers in at least five more years of labor peace for baseball fans. In addition to the big issues already revealed in the agreement (hGH blood-testing, two more Wild Card teams, full-time inter-league play), there are a bunch of interesting little items tucked away in the entrails of this puppy. One that jumped out at us was the still open possibility of Wild Card expansion in 2012—a decision that needs to be made by March 1st. Another was the apparent expansion of Instant Replay to "fair/foul calls" and "trapped" balls. One can imagine the raging controversies this new wrinkle will cause—not to mention delays. Then there was this odd one: "Active Roster limits will be expanded to 26 for certain regular or split doubleheaders." OK, makes sense I guess. The minimum player salary goes to $500,000 in 2014. Maybe the weirdest of all provisions was this: "All Players will be subject to a policy governing the use of Social Media." Of course, there was mention of said policy, but the players sure have to adhere to it. Maybe Bud will "tweet" it to them.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
New CBA Is Chock Full Of 'Stuff'
The new MLB Collective Bargaining Agreement ushers in at least five more years of labor peace for baseball fans. In addition to the big issues already revealed in the agreement (hGH blood-testing, two more Wild Card teams, full-time inter-league play), there are a bunch of interesting little items tucked away in the entrails of this puppy. One that jumped out at us was the still open possibility of Wild Card expansion in 2012—a decision that needs to be made by March 1st. Another was the apparent expansion of Instant Replay to "fair/foul calls" and "trapped" balls. One can imagine the raging controversies this new wrinkle will cause—not to mention delays. Then there was this odd one: "Active Roster limits will be expanded to 26 for certain regular or split doubleheaders." OK, makes sense I guess. The minimum player salary goes to $500,000 in 2014. Maybe the weirdest of all provisions was this: "All Players will be subject to a policy governing the use of Social Media." Of course, there was mention of said policy, but the players sure have to adhere to it. Maybe Bud will "tweet" it to them.