New labour deal a win-win for players, MLB

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Major League Baseball owners and the MLB Players Association finally have a deal!

There will now be labour peace for at least the next five years after the league and union came to terms on a new five-year collective bargaining agreement Thursday, ending a 99-day lockout. 

A full 162-game regular season will begin on April 7, with spring training set to get underway on Sunday.

This is a deal that has major economic impact for the players, especially younger players, as the new CBA provides for an increase in minimum salaries. The economics of the game, however, aren’t interesting to most fans, other than how the changes will increase the cost of a beer and a hot dog at ballparks. 

But there are changes coming to the game that will improve the product on the field, with the most significant one being the expanded playoffs.

There will now be a 12-team postseason, with six teams in each league headed to the playoffs from the current five, creating an entire extra round of games. The increased number of playoff teams will keep more fan bases engaged deeper in the season. Plus, it will make teams spend more money on players, both in the off-season and in player capital at the trade deadline.

Baseball gets criticized for not marketing its stars. It is a challenge because the game is consumed by fans on a regional basis. We all love our own stars and don’t relate well to stars on other clubs. But playoff baseball allows fans from across the game to connect with players on every team. The game needs more stars playing in the biggest events. We will get that now with more teams in postseason baseball. 

The designated hitter is now the standard in each league as the National League will now adopt the