Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 19, 1990 TAG: 9003192605
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Medium
The settlement brought an end to a bitter dispute that had kept players locked out of spring training since Feb. 15, the second-longest work stoppage in baseball history.
According to a source familiar with the agreement, 17 percent of players between two and three years of major-league service will become eligible for arbitration.
Using this year's service class, 14 of 83 two-to-three players would have been eligible.
Both the union and owners refused to confirm the settlement.
"We'll have an announcement in a little while," Commissioner Fay Vincent said.
Fans from kids to President Bush had urged the two sides to get together and make a settlement, and after many hours on Sunday they did.
The key issue emerged as salary arbitration eligibility and it dominated the negotiations the last few weeks.
Word of a settlement came about 11:30 p.m. EST after the players and owners had spent the entire day working on a formula to solve arbitration eligibility.
There was no immediate word if opening day would be on April 2 as scheduled.
Negotiators met for 90 minutes early Sunday and after a lunch break, resumed in the afternoon at Vincent's Park Avenue office. When they finally stopped, a deal was done.
Over the weekend, owners moved off their refusal to alter three-year eligibility and players moved off their demand that half the two-year players be made eligible.
The union's executive board met for nearly five hours Saturday and turned down the new proposal owners made on Friday.
That plan called for a $100,000 minimum, $5,000 less than the union wanted and a $55 million yearly contribution to the pension plan, which players had accepted.
The cancellations have been devastating to local economies in Florida and Arizona.
The seventh work stoppage in baseball history began on Feb. 15, when owners locked the gates to training camps, the third lockout in baseball history. The union staged midseason strikes in 1981 and 1985, and owners were fearful that players would walk off the field late in the year, jeopardizing the World Series and as much as 80 percent of the national television money.
by CNB