Dave Hannigan: Baseball on brink of chaos as billionaire owners say players earn too much

Earlier this month, Major League Baseball issued a 34-page memo containing a very specific set of contingency plans for this coming winter. Images and videos of current stars are to be temporarily scrubbed from team websites and club executives can only attend players’ weddings if they undertake not to talk about the game with guests. The same officials must not send Christmas or holiday cards of any kind to squad members, cannot discuss contracts with their agents and need to ensure all training facilities are closed.

These bizarre instructions covering every aspect of club business are to be carried out if the owners and players cannot, as now seems likely, agree on a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) by 11.59pm on December 1st. The gloomy prospect of a lockout potentially wiping out the 2027 season is why the unsavoury stench of industrial dispute hung over the World Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays this past week. The fear is this romantic matchup, the first between two small-market teams since 1991, might be the last competitive baseball for 18 months.