What was once referred to as “America’s Pastime” can now be referred to as “America’s Spectacle.”

The ongoing baseball negotiations between millionaires and billionaires continues at a snail’s pace when logic should say discussions should be expedited to warp speed as the calendar turned to March last week. 

Otherwise, it is the average Joes that are going to suffer by not having their sport to watch.

The first couple of series of the upcoming season were canceled last week amid the lack of progress between Major League Baseball and the Players Union. That means for the defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves, fans not only have spring training games being canceled but now regular season series with the Pirates and the Reds have been wiped out. Actual games that contribute to the regular season standings and to the record books are no longer on the baseball calendar.

Theoretically, the games could be made up as part of a new baseball calendar once both sides come to a compromise. At this rate, should we really expect a deal to come soon?

It is disappointing that it is early March and the talk is about the current lockout and not about how the Braves are going to repeat as champions. The on-field celebration where the Braves hang another World Series pennant at Truist Park is being put on hold. So is the special ceremony where players receive their championship rings. All of the accolades that come with being World Series champs are being delayed. It is another bi-product of a sport that is being mismanaged by all involved.

It is a shame it has gotten this far. The sport is not what it once was, which was often being referred to as “America’s Pastime.” The younger generation is not gravitating to the sport like it once had. With the current spat that exists between both sides, this is not the image baseball needs to be portraying to kids aspiring to be the next Freddie Freeman or Ronald Acuna Jr.

Braves fans should be preparing for another run at a potential championship. They’ve been relegated to collateral damage in this game of who gives in first. At this point I’m not sure who will blink first. Both sides are to blame. It’s a disappointing era for Major League Baseball.

Clint Thompson is a special contributor to the Valdosta Daily Times.