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MLB announces Opening Day date for 2022 season amid work stoppage concerns

By Chelena Goldman | Last updated 8/4/21

Major League Baseball announced this week it aims to open the 2022 season on March 31. The question now is whether a work stoppage could derail that plan, according to an Associated Press report.

The MLB rolled out its calendar for the upcoming season, including an aim for every team to play on Opening Day -- something that hasn't happened since 1968 because games often get canceled due to inclement weather and, as was the case the last two seasons, because of COVID-19.

Every #OpeningDay matchup for the 2022 season.

Find out more about your favorite team's schedule: https://t.co/RJYopyoGI8 pic.twitter.com/6S8me772Cd
— MLB (@MLB) August 4, 2021

Of course, this March 31 start date is all predicated upon there not being a work stoppage ahead of spring training. As of right now, things on that front aren't looking so good.

The tension between MLB and MLBPA has continued to rise since the two sides couldn't find common ground on when to start spring training for the 2021 season. This is on top of the ever-growing frustration players feel with regard to labor contracts signed in the past decade. With the current collective bargaining agreement set to expire on December 1, a lockout or strike appears more and more possible.

As the Associated Press notes, the league had "five strikes and three lockouts from 1972-95." The last stoppage, which took place 1994-95, lasted seven-and-a-half months and resulted in the first canceled World Series in 90 years.

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