ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, November 27, 1996 TAG: 9611270032
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHICAGO
SOURCE: RONALD BLUM ASSOCIATED PRESS
And now, back to the game.
Back to pitching, hitting, running and catching.
Surely, that beats strikes, suits and salary caps.
Baseball's four long years of labor strife ended Tuesday when owners dramatically reversed course and ratified the same collective bargaining agreement they rejected just three weeks ago.
Worn out by the most bitter battle in the history of professional sports, one that wiped out the World Series for the first time in 90 years, owners approved a contract that ensures labor peace through 2000 and possibly 2001.
It also ushers in a new era that includes interleague play and revenue sharing for small-market teams. The only strikes now will come from the pitcher's mound.
``Baseball fans can finally look forward to five years of uninterrupted play,'' acting commissioner Bud Selig said. "We can now work together to bring peace to the game.''
Approval came exactly one week after Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf shattered baseball's salary structure by signing Albert Belle to a record $55 million, five-year deal. That contract provoked criticism from many baseball executives who felt betrayed.
Those sentiments were largely behind the 26-4 vote - three more than the three-fourths majority required - that ratified the agreement.
Owners rejected the deal 18-12 on Nov. 6, but Selig decided to call another meeting within hours after Belle's signing. During a meeting that lasted only a little more than two hours, 14 teams changed their votes after an appeal from Selig, who refused to take a position three weeks ago.
``Actually, it's good for the White Sox because it dooms the small-market teams,'' said Reinsdorf, one of the four "nay" votes. ``If anybody was for the deal because of what happened with Belle, I didn't hear it.''
San Diego Padres president Larry Lucchino and Mets president Fred Wilpon criticized Reinsdorf during the meeting. Lucchino, according to one meeting participant who spoke on the condition he not be identified, accused the White Sox owner of leading teams astray with his hard-line stance.
Cleveland, Kansas City and Oakland also voted against the five-year contract, which is retroactive to 1996 and runs through 2000. Players have the option of extending the agreement through 2001.
Players and owners had battled since Dec. 7, 1992, when teams voted to reopen the previous contract.
The 232-day strike that began Aug. 12, 1994, wiped out the last 71/2 weeks of the 1994 regular season and the first 31/2 weeks of the 1995 schedule.
The work stoppage - the eighth since 1972 - was costly to both sides. Attendance has dropped 15 percent from pre-strike levels, players lost more than $350 million in salaries, and owners have taken an $800 million hit over three years.
Union head Donald Fehr said Tuesday's vote was only the first step in the rebuilding process.
``Much work remains to be done,'' he said in New York.
Teams forced out commissioner Fay Vincent in preparation for their attempt to gain a salary cap and reverse more than two decades of player gains, which caused the average salary to rise from $29,000 in 1970 to nearly $1.2 million before the strike. Now that a labor deal is approved, Selig said the process of hiring a full-time commissioner will begin sometime in the next few months.
The most revolutionary on-field aspect is the start of interleague play. It begins June 12, when the four National League West teams play the four American League West teams. The other divisions start the next day. Teams will play 15 or 16 interleague games next year, depending on their division.
Final approval from players is expected next week when the union's executive board meets at Dorado Beach, Puerto Rico.
The central provisions of the agreement are a luxury tax covering the 1997, 1998 and 1999 seasons, designed to slow the payroll rise among large-market teams; and revenue sharing, which will shift at least $70 million a year from the large markets to the small markets in both 1996 and 1997.
Up to five teams will pay a 35 percent tax on the amount of their payrolls over $51 million next season and $55 million in 1998. In 1999, they will pay a 34 percent tax on the amount over $58.9 million, and in 2000 the tax will disappear.
LENGTH: Medium: 81 linesby CNB