By Rory Carroll
BEVERLY HILLS (Reuters) -A work stoppage stemming from a lockout or strike would damage Major League Baseball just as the sport is enjoying renewed growth in revenue and popularity, two of the game’s all-time greats said.
The current collective bargaining agreement between MLB and the MLB Players Association expires Dec. 1, 2026. Some owners have floated a salary cap – MLB is the only major men’s North American league without one – a proposal players oppose, raising the prospect of a labor dispute ahead of the 2027 season.
“It’d be bad, because I’ve been through every one of them,” Dusty Baker, who managed for 26 seasons and debuted as a player in the strike-hit 1972 season, told Reuters at a charity event in Beverly Hills, California last weekend.
“Very rarely does anything good come out of a lockout or a strike. So I’m hoping that they settle it.”
Sammy Sosa, who hit 609 home runs during his career, good for ninth on the all-time list, said he thought there was plenty of time for the sides to resolve their differences.
“It’s all about the contract, and I think they’re going to have time to set up everything,” he said on the red carpet for the Harold and Carole Pump Foundation dinner, a fundraiser for cancer research and treatment.
“Both sides are talking about the dollar signs, but I believe that they’re going to be able to agree at some point.”
Asked whether a salary cap would be good for baseball, Sosa said he doubted it.
“I don’t think so,” he said.
Phillies’ Bryce Harper had a heated confrontation, according to media reports, with MLB commissioner Rob Manfred inside the Phillies’ clubhouse last month about a potential salary cap.
MLB’s gross revenues hit a record $12.1 billion in 2024, a 4.3% growth from the previous year and up 15.2% from 2012 on the back of its lucrative media rights, a growth in sponsorships and rising attendance, according to Forbes.
“Hopefully, they can agree,” Sosa said.
“The way baseball is going right now, there are going to be more players signing contracts.
“It is going to be more, more, more, and the salary is going to go up.”
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los AngelesEditing by Toby Davis)
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