Follow the money. It's wise advice in tracking any negotiation, particularly when the path of a $10 billion industry is at stake.
And naturally that's what it came down to for Major League Baseball and its players association as the hours ticked down to the expiration of the current collective bargaining agreement as the calendar turned to December.
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In the end, there will be no work stoppage in 2017, nor in four seasons thereafter, after the sides agreed in principle to a new five-year deal Wednesday about three hours ahead of the midnight deadline, as first reported by Fox Sports.