The 2002 negotiations between owners and players in major league baseball attracted national attention because of the history of past work stoppages in the sport. This article examines eight reasons why the negotiations successfully avoided a shutdown. Perhaps the most important of these reasons was that the players really did not want to strike— despite their announced intention to do so. The 232-day 1994-95 baseball strike, the longest ever in professional team sports, was devastating to both sides, and neither wanted to go through a similar experience.
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