MLB Avoids Another Major Disaster: Recapping the Offseason CBA in the New Year

As the New Year begins, it is comforting to know that next month pitchers and catchers will report to spring training.

Besides the big signings that took place, including Albert Pujols going to the West Coast to the Angels, a major story from this offseason that may have gone unnoticed is the new collective bargaining agreement (CBA).

Late in November, the MLB players and owners agreed on a new CBA. In 2011, we saw an NFL lockout that forced an alteration in the season schedule; in case there was a delay to the beginning of the season.

The NBA sacrificed 16 games due to their lockout, and did not start the season until Christmas Day. However, Major League Baseball gave professional sports a breath of fresh air.

MLB players and owners agreed to a new deal without a long, drawn out, greed-driven battle.  This happened smoothly with the MLB partially because of what went on with the three other major sports recently (NHL canceled the 2004-2005 seasons due to a labor dispute).

In addition to the examples the MLB got to witness, baseball could recall from their own mistakes in the past: The strike that shortened the MLB season in 1994.  

The 1994 season was producing story lines that have now been forgotten. The strike had seen immediate ramifications, as there was a 20 percent decrease in average attendance from the 1994 season to the (shortened 144 games) 1995 season.

It is even more dramatic to consider that in 1993, over 70 million fans went to ballparks. This is almost 20 million more than 1995, the year after the strike. 

The fans that did show up were not quiet either. They made their frustration known. Fans made dramatic attempts to get their point across.

They threw $150 worth of $1 bills at players at Shea Stadium, and rented a plane to fly over Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati with a sign declaring "Owners & Players: To hell with all of you!"

Fans went to extremes to get their point across after the strike, including the ones that just never came back.  

The Montreal Expos that were in the midst of their best season when the strike began held an MLB best record of 74-40.

They saw their attendance drop significantly in the years following the strike, which ultimately contributed to the move of their team to Washington D.C in 2005. The Expos never recovered from that strike. 

Other story lines that became victim to the strike were: Tony Gwynn's pursuit of .400, as he was hitting .394 when the strike began, and the Giants' Matt Williams, the purist to break Roger Maris' home run record, had 43 home runs with 47 games remaining.

These chases and the success of the Expos made it tough for the MLB to recover. But when it did, it came back stronger than ever. 

The last thing the MLB wanted this year was a situation that would mirror the 1994 and 1995 seasons. It would be highly unlikely to have another situation like the Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa home run race to bring fans back once again.

The new deal is highlighted by random human growth hormone (HGH) blood tests that will be done in the offseason and spring training.

The MLB is the first American major sports league to implement such testing. It will be interesting to see if other leagues try to get the same testing in place. 

Included in the new CBA is an increased allotment for instant replay, which includes trapped and foul balls. The hot topic of instant replay will constantly be debated, especially with more use of it upcoming.

The other major change was the postseason. The league has set up a 10-team format, adding an extra Wild Card team in each league.

If this format was in place last year, then it would have eliminated the drama that we saw in September. The Red Sox collapsed and the Rays beat them out on the last day of the season, as well as the Cardinals and Braves coming down to the final day of the regular season. 

If it isn't broke, don't fix it. 

The league is coming off the most drama we've ever seen in the final days of the season, which end with two historic collapses. The one-team Wild Card format has been successful since it began, so why would they decide to change it now? 

If the Braves and Cardinals had to play each other as the two NL Wild Card teams this year, who knows if the Cardinals would have been able to make it to the World Series, and give us one of the greatest games in World Series history.

This conversation was happening mid-season, so the thoughts on playoff expansion were well under way before the offseason talks. 

More teams will have a chance to make the playoffs now. This means teams will achieve higher attendance numbers resulting in more money for the teams, and more money to be spent on players to hopefully improve teams. 

In a few years, we might begin to get used to the new playoff format and it won't be a big deal. As of right now, it is a change that might take some getting used to.

All of this comes on the heels of the announcement that the Astros will move to the AL West in 2013. 

It is going to be interesting to see how quickly fans get used to the changes. But at least there is not a chance of a lockout.

We can all look forward to pitchers and catchers reporting next month. And really, that is all we can ask for.