Hendriks: Games missed will be detrimental, no one wants that

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Major League Baseball and the player's union are working on a new collective bargaining agreement, but the deadline is fast approaching.

The current CBA expires at 11:59 p.m. ET on Dec. 1.

With the state of baseball up in the air, it has some fans preparing for a worst case scenario, a work stoppage of lockout.

"I think both sides are coming from a place where they're trying to make it be as big and as strong as possible," Chicago White Sox closer Liam Hendriks told the media after winning his second consecutive AL Reliever of the Year Award. "And that's just how it goes, a lot of it is posturing now. And hopefully we can get to a point where it's amicable.

We can make this decision then and we can get back to playing this game we love because I think everybody's of the same accord where games missed next year will be detrimental to the sport for decades to come. And I don't think anybody wants that."

There have been eight work stoppages in MLB's history, most recently a players strike that lasted a little over seven months from 1994 into 1995.

That strike began in mid-August, canceling the 1994 postseason. At the time of the strike, the White Sox had the best record in the central division at 67-46, holding a one-game lead over the Indians and the second best record in the American League.

The White Sox are looking to build off a disappointing postseason performance in 2021 and contend for a World Series in 2022, and a work stoppage threatens this team's chance to fulfill it's potential.

"Obviously all the uncertainty is is wild, but I think both sides are trying to move to a direction where it's works and there's some give and take there," Hendriks said. "It's just how much you value, how much you're giving and how much you value what you're taking.

"And that's the biggest crux in any negotiation, whether it be a free agent deal with a team, whether it be a union, business organization, sort of thing or anything."

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