Major League Baseball team owners have locked out the players in a battle over the game’s future economic structure, initiating the sport’s first work stoppage since the strike that resulted in the cancelation of the 1994 World Series. [snip] A large point of contention is the competitive landscape, particularly the rise of “tanking”–a radical rebuilding strategy in which teams intentionally make their rosters worse to save money and acquire draft picks for the future. This approach, coupled with an increased reliance on data analytics, caused a squeeze on some veteran free agents, inspiring the players’ frustration. [snip] Management argues that...