Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association have reached a preliminary agreement on a new Basic Agreement. The five-year deal was officially announced on Tuesday afternoon at a news conference.
The new deal through the 2016 season gives MLB a span of 21 years of labor peace since the strike-shortened 1994 season and delayed start of the ’95 season. The current CBA, which was signed without any rancor in 2006, was set to expire on Dec. 11. The new agreement needs to be formalized in writing and ratified independently by the players and owners.
“I am thrilled for the fans that the clubs and the players of Major League Baseball, together, have the opportunity to further build on our game’s unprecedented popularity,” Commissioner Bud Selig said. “Labor peace has proven essential to the best interests of baseball and its millions of fans, who have attended our ballparks in historic numbers over the last eight years.
