Let's Set Odds: Will MLB Play a 162-Game Season in 2022?
By Ben Heisler
Who will blink first in the ongoing Major League Baseball labor negotiations?
With Spring Training already delayed, the looming Opening Day date of March 31 is looking more and more unlikely with both ownership and the MLBPA still very far apart.
According to multiple reports, MLB has indicated Monday, Feb. 28 is the last possible date to reach an agreement for a new collective bargaining agreement to not push back Opening Day. This would indicate games not being delayed, but actually cancelled and not made up should a deal not get done.
For what it's worth, Sunday has been Day 7 of ongoing negotiations from Jupiter, Florida, so at least both sides are actually in a room, despite no real progress being made.
If you believe in the power of actual deadlines and persuasion, the good news is WynnBET is offering a great opportunity to buy in at favorable odds (+103) for every Major League team on both sides.
However, what if we could bet on the season actually getting in a full 162 games? While those odds aren't available at WynnBET, let's go ahead and set them ourselves.
Odds of a 162-Game Season in Major League Baseball
- YES: +300
- NO: -450
Ownership Continues to Underestimate the MLB Players Union
If the MLB owners truly wanted the season to go on, they could simply end the lockout, extend the current CBA for the time being, and continue negotiations in-season until a new deal is reached. But by locking out the players, they're hoping for the MLB Players' Union to simply concede, looking at the missed opportunity to be paid for a full 162-game season.
Where they continue to be wrong in this process is betting against the resolve of the MLB Player's Union. Commissioner Rob Manfred doesn't have the fans' support like in previous labor disputes, and has already used up several negotiating tactics, like the false pretense of claiming to use a mediator in negotiations, only for the players to respond back with one of their most well-respected player reps in Max Scherzer easily getting their message understood by fans across the sport.
We don’t need mediation because what we are offering to MLB is fair for both sides:
— Max Scherzer (@Max_Scherzer) February 4, 2022
We want a system where threshold and penalties don’t function as caps, allows younger players to realize more of their market value, makes service time manipulation a thing of the past, and eliminate tanking as a winning strategy.
— Max Scherzer (@Max_Scherzer) February 4, 2022
The 11th hour of negotiations is always a fascinating time, but owners don't like being told that their way of things isn't good, and the players don't appear to cave to their demands any time soon, even if it means missed paychecks. Ultimately, I'd bet on a shortened season, with Opening Day coming around Memorial Day Weekend as the weather improves across the country and schools begin to let out.
PREDICTION: NO -450