MLB lockout ends as owners approve 5-year labour deal with unanimous vote

Major League Baseball's players and owners ended their most bitter money fight in a quarter-century Thursday when the players' association accepted management's offer to salvage a 162-game season that will start April 7.

The work stoppage ended at 7 p.m. ET sharp, closing an acrimonious 99-day lockout that delayed spring training and threatened to cancel regular-season games for the first time since 1995.

Training camps in Florida and Arizona will open Friday, with players mandated to report by Sunday. Opening day was pushed back just over a week from its March 31 date, but all that might be forgotten when the Yankees' Aaron Judge digs in against the rival Red Sox, or Shohei Ohtani eschews the new universal designated hitter and plays both ways for the Angels.

The squad is ready