The MLB is officially in a lockout after the owners and the Players' Association failed to come to terms on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. Thus, free agency is on hold, players are no longer allowed to work out at their team's facilities, and effectively, the league is on pause.
Well, in a rather bizarre move, MLB removed all of the player images from its website, and all of the team's websites, replacing them with a generic grey silhouette in the shape of a baseball player.
Players began to take notice of the change and had a hilarious response of their own. Multiple MLB stars took to social media and changed their Twitter avatars to the grey silhouette, taking a not-so-subtle shot at Rob Manfred and the league.
MLB’s website removed player photos from roster pages because of the lockout.
In response, some players are changing their profile pics. pic.twitter.com/kCvDOoW9kt
— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) December 2, 2021
Among the initial players to alter their avatars were Chicago White Sox ace Lucas Giolito, Seattle Mariners slugger Mitch Haniger, New York Mets right-hander Taijuan Walker, and San Diego Padres hurler Joe Musgrove, and many more began following suit.
#NewProfilePic pic.twitter.com/monyD2CDeL
— Joe Musgrove (@itsFatherJoe44) December 2, 2021
This marks the first time Major League Baseball has undergone a lockout since the 1990 season and it seems as if players are not pleased by the lack of progress made between the two sides. The 1990 lockout did not result in the cancellation of any regular-season games. However, the two previous lockouts, in 1981 and 1972 respectively, both resulted in games being canceled.
It's unclear whether or not the length of the 2022 season will be impacted by the lockout, or if the two sides will iron out their differences before long.
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