BALTIMORE — The stalemate between the MLB and MLBPA marks the first time a labor dispute delayed the season in nearly 30 years.
The delay will push back opening day for the Baltimore Orioles to April 11th, which is when the season could begin.
It’s all contingent on if the league and the union will come to an agreement.
“It’s definitely going to impact us,” said Anthony Washington, who is the GM of Pickles Pub in Baltimore. “Pickles and Orioles baseball have been synonymous for 30 plus years or so.”
It’s a business that relies heavily on fans packing Camden Yards as well as the bar.
“It hurts us, it hurts everybody, it hurts the city,” Washington said.
And with the season in question, Pickles Pub is stuck trying to figure out how to move forward despite the uncertainty
“The owners are trying to get together, trying put everything in place for opening day but all that stuff is teetering because we don’t know when we’ll actually get the opening day game,” said Washington.
For now, the season is currently delayed and the first home game for the Orioles wouldn't be until April 11th, but it won’t just be the area bars that are impacted.
Hundreds of ballpark workers represented by United Here Local 7 will be out of a job for at least a couple of weeks.
“To a lot of my coworkers, it’s heartbreaking because we are not just there for the dollar,” said George Hancock, who is a concessions worker at the ballpark. “We are there for the fans [and] for the environment. It’s a part of Baltimore. So, we are all there to enjoy and to work. It’s really disappointing to a lot of us workers.”
Hancock said he and other ballpark workers depend on the money.
Many of them are still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.
Hancock added he’s hoping the league and players can come to an agreement.
“I’m very concerned if this last any longer, it can really start affecting people, their livelihood , the way they live, the way they operate,” he said. “As we see, everything is constantly going up, food, gas, so it affects us in a lot of different ways.”
For fans who have already bought tickets for opening day and other games that were canceled will be able to use those tickets for future games when the season begins.
The Orioles organization sent a letter to fans addressing the lockout. It can be read below
Dear O’s Fans,
Despite Major League Baseball’s best efforts to reach an agreement with the players on a new CBA by offering proposals aimed at addressing the players’ stated priorities and offering significant improvements for players from the previous agreement, the two sides have yet to reach an agreement for the 2022 season. Therefore, the league has been forced to delay the start of the regular season. Games scheduled through Wednesday, April 6, will not be played. With this change, the Orioles home opener is now currently scheduled for Monday, April 11, against Milwaukee.
While we are disappointed that there will not be a full 162-game season, we are confident that MLB will continue to negotiate in good faith, will keep working hard to find areas of compromise, and is exhausting every option to avoid any more delays to the 2022 season. We understand how important it is to you that we get the game on the field as soon as possible.
If the season is delayed further and additional games are impacted, fans will be contacted right away. The Orioles are proud to offer the Orioles Guarantee - a fan assurance benefit included with every ticket that guarantees your investment in Orioles baseball - which will continue to apply to any future cancelled games.
If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us at tickets@orioles.com.
Thank you for your continued support. We hope to see you at the ballpark as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
The Baltimore Orioles
