It’s Not My Moneyball 2026: Pandora’s Box

(Photo by Mary Holt/WBCI/MLB Photos via Getty Images) In 2022, the “It’s not my Moneyball” series was created in response to the lockout imposed by the owners that disrupted Spring Training and arguably cost Clayton Kershaw a perfect game in Minneapolis ( I had fun ). As the season starts, the World Baseball Classic concludes, we must revive this series as trouble looms in the distance, hanging in the air, exactly in the way a brick does not. The current consensus among MLB pundits is that the sport will slam to a grinding halt in December 2026; to which I respond: Where were you lot literally three years ago , when I pointed out the clear writing on the wall?

At the risk of asking the owners how many times they need to learn this lesson , I am not generally in the business of making predictions, but I will venture out on a limb and make a prediction today: The owners are going to lock out the players (again) in December 2026 when the current collective bargaining agreement expires. [emphasis as in original. ] The following point needs to be repeated loudly because most owners are counting on everyone in the media and the fans to ignore the following immutable truth: there is absolutely no reason for a lockout to occur; if the current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) were to expire, the players and owners could proceed under the current system until a deal for a new CBA is struck.

The only reason owners impose a lockout is to pressure the Players’ Union into accepting a salary cap, which the Union is hellbent on rejecting. Admittedly, I was wrong about who the “culprits” of the impending lockout would be, but my reasoning was generally sound, even if the owners were trying to act as if they were doing something while doing nothing . The owners have stopped playing around with optics and faux committees .

Back in 2023, the baseball world quivered in fear of Steve Cohen bullying the league with his seemingly limitless financial resources for the Mets, and looked at the efforts of Peter Seidler doing his best Mike Ilitch (Mr. I) of the Detroit Tigers impersonation as Exhibit B of why the sport would grind to a screeching halt in December 2026. The fears were misguided as the Mets continued to find entertaining ways to set money on fire, and like Mr.