[Mick]

I just realized that, unlike 30 years ago, the minor leagues are now unionized too. So it's even less likely that the owners will use replacement players.

On the other hand, they are pretty serious about a $245.3 million hard cap. Only seven teams exceeded that in 2026. I think the players will get locked out, but I'm not sure for how long. After the 1981 lockout, the initial attendance dip was only 1% and attendance went up by 11% in 1982. But after the prolonged 1994 lockout, attendance went down 20% and didn't recover for almost a decade.Then after the 2021/2 lockout, attendance went up by about 10% again.

[Mick]

I just realized that, unlike 30 years ago, the minor leagues are now unionized too. So it's even less likely that the owners will use replacement players.

On the other hand, they are pretty serious about a $245.3 million hard cap. Only seven teams exceeded that in 2026. I think the players will get locked out, but I'm not sure for how long. After the 1981 lockout, the initial attendance dip was only 1% and attendance went up by 11% in 1982. But after the prolonged 1994 lockout, attendance went down 20% and didn't recover for almost a decade.Then after the 2021/2 lockout, attendance went up by about 10% again.