MLB Scrubs its Website of Names, Images, and Likenesses Immediately After Locking Out the Players

Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images

The collective bargaining agreement between Major League Baseball and the Players Association expired at 11:59pm Wednesday night, with team owners voting unanimously to institute a lockout, effective Thursday morning.

All Major League Baseball websites were well-prepared for the lockout, with the league quickly scrubbing its digital platforms of any current news stories about players. Team websites removed player photos on their 40-man rosters and replaced current news content with historical events.

“Until a new agreement is reached, there will be limitations on the type of content we display,” MLB posted on its website. “As a result, you will see a lot more content that focuses on the game’s rich history. Once a new agreement is reached, the up-to-the minute news and analysis you have come to expect will continue as usual.”

According to the league, MLB will attempt to avoid promoting players’ names, images, or likenesses during the lockout to comply with federal labor law.

This is the first work stoppage in Major League Baseball since the 1994-95 seasons and there is no way of predicting how long the lockout will last. Pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to spring training in February, but that’s reliant on a new collective bargaining agreement being in place.

Ironically, the looming work stoppage led to one of the most exciting off-season weeks in MLB history. In recent years, MLB’s free agency period felt about as long as its regular season, with players often remaining unsigned until February or March.

But the pending lockout gave teams, agents, and players added initiative to get deals done. But for now, even though fans are feeling rejuvenated and eager to read content about their favorite team’s new additions, MLB just scrubbed its website of all current content.