Baseball Commissioner Robert D. Manfred, Jr. announced today that the owners of the Major League Clubs have ratified the new five-year collective bargaining agreement with the Major League Baseball Players Association. A tentative agreement was reached in Irving, Texas on November 30th, prior to the December 1st expiration of the previous labor contract, and its terms were jointly released by the parties on December 2nd.
The five-year agreement, which extends through the 2021 season, matches the two previous labor contracts as the longest in the game's history. By the end of the new agreement, Baseball will have gone 26 years without a strike or a lockout, continuing the sport's longest period of labor peace since the inception of the collective bargaining relationship. Baseball's active streak without a work stoppage also marks the longest of its kind among the major North American professional sports.
Commissioner Manfred said: "This agreement allows us to build on the positive momentum from last season and promote a generation of young players who represent the National Pastime extraordinarily well. We are looking forward to the many opportunities ahead to continue the game's growth."