Tanking

Tanking refers to the practice of a team deliberately fielding a lesser line-up for an entire season in order to extract a better position in the next amateur draft. The word's meaning comes from sinking to the bottom of a tank of water. In earlier times, the term was used as a synonym for deliberately losing a game (often because of gambling), or for someone playing below his level of ability in order to get out from an unsatisfactory contract.

The term originally applied to professional hockey and basketball, with the NHL and NBA both adopting a draft lottery in the 1990s in order to discourage the practice, with only partial success. In Major League Baseball, because the pay-off from the amateur draft is delayed and more uncertain, it took longer for teams to attempt the strategy, but the success of the Houston Astros, who were awful in the late 2000s and early 2010s and extracted a draft bonanza as a result, made the term current. Of course, the Astros did not draft particularly well when they had the first overall pick in three consecutive seasons from 2012 to 2014 (both Mark Appel and Brady Aiken were complete busts), but overall they managed to extract enough value from the young players they picked up during the lean years to emerge as a powerhouse in the second half of the 2010s, making the model attractive to others.

The biggest losers when a tanking strategy is adopted are the fans, who must continue to pay full price for a devalued on-field product. The promise of future excellence is not always enough to convince them to put up with the bad times, especially as there is no guarantee of a rosier future. The resulting onfield mismatches are also not liked by advertisers, broadcasters or the media. The practice is also frowned upon by the Players Association, as a tanking team will often be filled by youngsters or minor leaguers being paid the minimum salary, costing established players a major league job.

Tanking was one of the issues in the contentious Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations that followed the 2021 season and led to a lockout.