by Aeden Alexander, Sports Editor

Major League Baseball announces that the 2022 regular season will have games canceled much to the anguish of players and fans, as players and owners can’t agree to a deal that would end their lockout.

With the original start of Spring Training being on February 26th, the MLB and Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) are way past their deadline of getting a new labor deal finalized. This will not only delay and cancel Spring Training games, but it will now also cause the cancellation of the beginning of the regular season.

After the 2021 season, the current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) expired, leaving another deal to be made. However, the MLBPA did not agree with the terms of the last deal and believed that it was too unfair for the players in many different aspects.

One of the players’ main concerns is about how poorly Minor League players are treated, as they get less pay than minimum wage in some states, as well as subpar housing in some situations. There were many other aspects of the deal that caused the lockout, including greedy owners and representatives of Major League Baseball.

Both sides have met almost every day for the past three weeks trying to make a deal. Reports have changed day to day, some being that a deal is close to being completed, with some days ending in frustration and talks going back to square one. 

The first deadline that the MLB set for an agreement to avoid canceling games was 5 P.M. on March 1st, which was not met due to Major League Baseball wanting a 14-team playoff bracket, opposed to the players’ preferred number of twelve teams.

Once the news broke about the first weekend series being canceled, many players and associates of the game of baseball came out on social media expressing their disgust with the league.

Statement from the Major League Baseball Players Association: pic.twitter.com/rmpciPsQm4

— MLBPA Communications (@MLBPA_News) March 1, 2022

One of the main reasons the MLB owners are able to go so long without a season is that statistically, the first month of the season is always their worst economically. Losing the first few weeks doesn’t mean much to them.

In addition to the players, fans are also in outrage because America’s pastime is not happening and getting shortened. Baseball is coming off of one of its most exciting years in the past decade, which included the two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani as well as the underdog Atlanta Braves winning the World Series.

The lockout has made many things tough within the league as well, due to the fact that players are not allowed to be around each other at times, which makes it difficult during holidays. 

Regarding The MLB Lockout: pic.twitter.com/QQUC1pWr5F

— Mike Trout (@MikeTrout) March 2, 2022

The board members of the MLBPA include some of the faces of baseball, as well as other respectable players. There are hundreds of players involved, but there are a selected number that really have a say in negotiations.

Tony Clark is one of the few retired players within the association and the Executive Director. Other associates consist of Max Scherzer, Andrew Miller, Elvis Andrus and Daniel Murphy.

This is only the ninth time in history where there has been a lockout in baseball, and the last time there was a lockout was right before the steroid era, in the 1990s. 

For America this is a major blow, as usually the end of the Super Bowl and NFL season signals the beginning of baseball. But now, with there being conflicts and delay, the future of the game due is at risk to the fact that kids are not watching any baseball.

MLB set another deadline for the end of the day on March 9th. If there is no agreement made, they will be canceling more games and most likely not play a full season.

by Ian Cook

After not having the season they longed for last year, the St. John Bosco Braves baseball team, led by Head Coach Don Barbara, have started off their 2022 season strong with an overall record of 5-1.

This year, the Braves have a grand total of 18 senior players. This team has already proven to be a strong contender as they were ranked 16th in Southern California by the Los Angeles Times. With this experience, they are hopeful to beat out the very challenging competition and win the prestigious Trinity League Championship.

“We’ve had a great start to this season so far, and since we have a lot of seniors, including myself, I just want to turn a lot of heads and make it big for our team,” said senior third baseman Julian Orozco. 

The Braves will face off against the Jserra Lions and the Orange Lutheran Lancers, two high-level programs that have drawn national attention in the last few years due to their continuous successful seasons. 

The Braves have had to battle through adversity over the course of the last two years due to COVID-19 and an unsuccessful season. Though going into this season, the Braves are excited to get back to a championship-contending team.

“We’ve had a rough two years, our season was cut short due to COVID, and last year we went 6-21. This year we’re finally back to normal and we have a lot of division one talent that we’re ready to display this year,” said senior catcher Dylan Taguiam. 

As of now, the Braves have defeated El Dorado 6-1, Mission Viejo 9-6, Woodbridge 8-1, Newport Harbor 13-1 and San Juan Hills 6-3. The Braves’ only defeat was to a very strong, Tesoro team, losing 4-3 in the championship game of the Newport Elks Tourney. 

The Braves have been able to use their depth to have a successful season thus far and hope to continue this game plan going into a very tough Trinity League stretch. 

“We’ve had a lot of guys this year step up big time and help us make great plays to close out these games. Dylan Lina, and Taguiam, as well as Jake Ellison, are just examples of a few guys that have really helped us close out games these last couple of weeks. We’re going to be counting on them and other guys as well to keep being as consistent as possible,” said senior pitcher Niko Riera. 

With this heavy senior group, comes many commitments, a few to mention are Caleb Brandon, committed to the University of Southern California, Dylan Taguiam, committed to Lipscomb University, Dylan Lina, committed to San Jose State University, Aeden Alexander, committed to Azusa Pacific University and Niko Riera, committed to the University of California Irvine.

Despite the depth in this year’s team, the expectations will even be higher than in previous years. The Braves hope to win the 2022 Trinity League Championship, as well as a CIF Southern Section and State Regional Title. 

The Braves will play an away game against Dana Hills Tuesday, March 8th, at 3 P.M.

by Aydn Morris

Following a disappointing loss at JSerra last week, the Braves are looking towards their first-round matchup with the La Costa Canyon Mavericks in the CIF State Championship tournament.

In an uncharacteristic game from the Braves, they lost 60-44 against JSerra. They struggled heavily to put the ball in the basket. In the first quarter, they only scored six points, and things did not get much better as they only scored ten points in the second quarter. 

“We shot the ball very poorly and allowed that to affect our defense. We have to always defend at a high level,” said head coach Matt Dunn.

According to Max Preps, the Braves average 15.7 points in the first quarter, and average a total of 64.3 points per game. The Braves were not able to hit either of these marks in this game, which led to the loss.

“We weren’t talking and did not communicate enough and get organized. We just weren’t ourselves and we can’t let that happen again. We need to improve by having more energy and the seniors leading more vocally,” said senior point guard D.J. Henry

Even with the loss last week, the Braves still have high hopes and expectations in what seems to be a second chance. The state tournament consists of 32 teams. The Braves earned the tenth seed in the southern side of the bracket, and they go against the seventh seeded Mavericks.

“I honestly feel pretty confident in my brothers that we can get the job done, because losing the game against Jserra was a big blow and it was a tough lesson to learn. I feel we have learnt it and we never want to feel that way again, so I feel really confident that we will take it to whoever we play. Just one game at a time,” said senior Marco Kenz 

The JSerra loss seemed to be a huge blow to the Braves, as any playoff loss should, but all they can focus on now is the next game, staying confident and being resilient. 

“Personally, I feel like we have something to prove. I don’t think many people believe we can win this, but our team does. So, we are excited to play,” said sophomore guard Jack Turner.

Fortunately, the Braves did not have to end their season in that fashion because that is not how they want to be defined as a team. The Braves were very resilient throughout their whole season, as they dealt with COVID as well as other adversities, including injuries. 

“We have had a lot of adversity with guys getting injured, and I had to sit out for transfer rules. It took a while for us to finally get in a rhythm together,” said Jack Turner.

These adversities may have benefited the Braves, as it made them play more as a team and play with more toughness, while giving everyone on the team an important role to fill. 

“We need our bench guys to play well. Different guys have stepped up at different times, but Marco Kenz and Christian Lizarraga have been very important,” said Coach Dunn. 

The Braves have many key players that fill their role, such as Jack Turner, Christian Estrada and D.J. Henry. Jack transferred in and became the leading scorer, as well a great defender. Christian is the force in the paint and the leader in both rebounds and blocks per game. D.J. is the leader in both assists per game and steals per game, as well as the senior voice, along with guard Ray King.

The Braves will need to lock in and focus during this game against La Costa Canyon, because they may not score on as much of a high level. The Mavericks have players who can score well, including their leading scorer, junior Christian Brown who is a 6’5″ wing.

The game takes place tonight at 6:00 P.M. at La Costa Canyon High School in Carlsbad, California.