Issues raised between the league and union involved compensation for young players and limitations on tanking to receive higher selections in the MLB draft.

Collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) between Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), the labor union, business, and charitable foundation of MLB players, are typically ratified on a five-year basis, with the most recent CBA ratified on December 1, 2016.

The union has argued that tanking reduces competitive integrity within MLB and incentivizes teams with no intention of winning games.

[8] MLBPA executive director Tony Clark also voiced a desire to create new systems that would increase compensation for talented young players, and the union vocally disapproved of implementing a salary cap.

These included eliminating the requirement for teams to lose a draft pick when signing a free agent who rejected their qualifying offer; a draft lottery modeled after that of the National Basketball Association; a universal designated hitter; and increases to both the player minimum salary and the competitive balance tax threshold.

[13] At 10:00 a.m. CST on November 30, 2021, one day before the CBA was set to expire, the MLBPA made its economic proposal to MLB at the Four Seasons hotel in Irving, Texas.

[15] The lockout officially began at 12:01 a.m. EST on December 2, 2021, announced via a press release from Rob Manfred, the Commissioner of Baseball.

MLB.com (which had not yet launched at the time of the last lockout) was primarily publishing retrospective-based articles, while MLB Network eventually suspended all regular offseason studio programming in favor of only carrying documentaries and classic game broadcasts.

The league offered a proposal which included pay increases for veteran players, performance bonuses, and several other changes on issues of tanking, expanding the playoff field, and use of a universal designated hitter.

[22] The MLBPA was unimpressed with the proposal, which explicitly did not address the issue of free agency eligibility and which prevented any player with fewer than three years of major league play from salary arbitration; previously, a select number of players who had spent two years in the league were eligible for arbitration.

[33] On February 10, Manfred held a press conference, where he said that the league had "agreed" both to the implementation of a universal designated hitter and the elimination of draft-pick compensation for free agents who reject qualifying offers.

[37] Beginning on February 21, in the final week before the league's self imposed deadline, the two sides began meeting every day in an attempt to start the regular season on time.

In a press conference immediately thereafter, commissioner Rob Manfred officially announced that the first two series of the regular season had been cancelled.

Unlike previous meetings, only two members of each side were in attendance, including MLB's Dan Halem and the MLBPA's Bruce Meyer.

[58] The league added several new facets to the proposal, including a third surcharge to the luxury tax, reportedly in response to New York Mets owner Steve Cohen's willingness to spend record-setting amounts on his team's payroll.

The players association “requested to speak to its board again early tomorrow before coming back with a proposal.” The league moved its deadline for a new collective bargaining agreement to be in place to conduct a 162-game season to March 9.

[66] Despite the league and the union closing the gap on these core economics issues, the international draft was a major disagreement.

The league would not give a full counter to the union until they picked one of those choices, and set a deadline for 6 p.m. EST for a decision to be made.

[72] The lockout was officially lifted at 7:00 p.m. EST, on Thursday, March 10, restoring teams' abilities to be in contact with players and effectively reopening free agency.

[72] At the time of the lockout's lifting, there were approximately 250 free agents remaining unsigned, including notable players such as Carlos Correa, Freddie Freeman, and Clayton Kershaw.

[79] Marcus Stroman criticized Rob Manfred after several failed negotiations in early February, calling him "Manclown" and saying that he needed to "stop ruining baseball.

"[80] Following the cancellation of regular season games after more failed negotiations in late February, Stroman criticized Manfred again, taking to Twitter to call for his firing and expressing his grievances with MLB's marketing of players.

[81] Mike Trout spoke out on the cancellations, criticizing the league's perceived unwillingness to compromise and saying that a fair CBA needed to be achieved despite his desire to play games.

"[85] In a poll conducted by the Los Angeles Times among adults who considered themselves baseball fans, 6 in 10 respondents said that the lockout was making them lose interest in the 2022 MLB season.

The survey found a higher percentage of blame for the owners than a 2020 Morning Consult poll that was taken when the league was attempting to negotiate a shortened season in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The prospect of larger bases was met with criticism by some fans while others praised the idea for its potential to reduce player injuries from sliding or tripping.