The Lockout
In a normal MLB offseason, we see a steady stream of news as teams maneuver to improve (or sell off assets) in preparation for the coming season. But this is not a normal MLB offseason, since the collective bargaining agreement between the league and the players’ union expired last December. Rather than allow offseason business to progress as usual while new terms were hammered out, MLB instituted a lockout and an accompanying transactions freeze, bringing the hot stove season to a grinding halt.
My hope was that the lockout would be over by the time I finished my in-depth looks into all 12 signs from 2021, but that proved to be wishful thinking. Despite some promising negotiating sessions, it appears that the league is willing to cancel regular season games if the owners don’t get the concessions they want from the players. So with the possibility of talks dragging on for at least another month, I’m taking a step back to analyze how the lockout has progressed in astrological terms.
The last CBA expired on December 1, 2021, during the height of Sagittarius season. In the days leading up to this milestone, we saw a flurry of activity on the free agent and (less so) trade markets, as teams tried to get their last-minute shopping done before the impending transactions freeze. It makes sense that all this activity would happen while the sun is in a high-energy, freedom-obsessed Fire sign like Sagittarius. Keep in mind that the most transaction-heavy time on the baseball calendar - the July 31st trade deadline - falls during Leo season, another Fire sign.
It’s really not a surprise that no real negotiating progress was made during Capricorn season. Yes, there was a break for the holidays, but Capricorns are famous for their stubborn nature - their mascot is the goat, after all. Capricorns also have an innate ability to climb to the top of any power structure (much like how goats climb mountains), and making concessions at the negotiating table is not the way to assert one’s power.
I must admit, I had hope for Aquarius season. Aquarius is the sign of dreamers and revolutionaries, which is the perfect backdrop for considering such radical ideas as giving players a fair share of the profit that their labor generates, or the universal designated hitter. It’s like the song says: “Harmony and understanding / Sympathy and trust abounding.” Also, Spring Training is scheduled to start just a week after Aquarius season ends, so if the owners want that sweet sweet gate revenue from exhibition games, an agreement would have to be reached during this sign.
We still have a little less than three weeks in Aquarius season, and it behooves both parties to get something done before the shift to Pisces, the most emotional of all signs. Speaking of both sides, perhaps the sun signs of the two major players have some impact on what’s happening here. Tony Clark, the executive head of the player’s association, is a Gemini, while MLB commissioner Rob Manfred is a Libra. These are both Air signs, and what’s more, according to the Astro Poets, they have a compatibility rating of 10 out of 10. So whatever happens, I’m sure these two have been enjoying the dramatic ins and outs of what essentially amounts to a financial courtship.
Next time, I’m moving my reverse chronological trip through FABL history back from the occasional Sunday post to the “Flashback Friday” time slot. Enjoy a look back at the most dystopian of all years, 1984!