Who needs a lockout? MLB and Players Union sign new labor contract

NEW YORK -- Baseball players and owners have signed an agreement for a new labor contract, a deal that starts blood testing on human growth hormone and expands the playoffs to 10 teams by 2013.

The five-year deal collective bargaining agreement, which was announced Tuesday, makes changes owners hope will increase competitive balance by pressuring large-market teams to rein in spending on amateur draft picks and international signings.

The extra wild cards in each league will be added for next season, which means the playoff field will expand immediately, a source told ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney.

At a time when the NBA season is threatened by a lockout and the NFL preseason was disrupted by labor strife, it ensures baseball will have 21 consecutive years of labor peace since the end of the 1994-95 strike.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7269300/major-league-baseball-players-owners-sign-new-labor-agreement

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