Jeff Passan

the league locked out the players.

And that lockout lasted for 99 days.

The important days are in late February and early to mid-March because that's the zone to get a deal done not to miss games.

Now, it's when games start becoming imperiled that fans should start being concerned because that's the possibility, not just of losing games at the beginning of a season, but of a particularly prolonged lockout.

And so right now, let's enjoy the baseball season.

Yeah, let's enjoy the baseball season.

Because the baseball is baseball right now, and it's been fantastic to watch.

But once we get to December, just because there's a lockout doesn't mean that everything is falling apart.

All of these negotiations, Pat, are about two things, money and leverage.

And those two things, the relationship between them are intertwined.

And both sides are always just looking for the most leverage they can get.

to get the best deal at the end of the day that they can.

And I'd like to believe that all of the parties involved understand that baseball is in a great place right now and a work stoppage where games are missed would be catastrophic for everyone.

Right, that's exactly right.

Yeah, and if not for Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa, it would have taken even longer.

And that's the thing.

You know, you shouldn't be banking on a black swan event to bring back your sport.

And that's what Major League Baseball is risking at this point, that they would need just an outlier of outlier.

There are so many things that fans can watch and can do, and they devote their time to baseball because they love the game.

The game needs to love them back.