Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 29, 1990 TAG: 9007290052
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: E5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN SMALLWOOD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
At the end of this season, the working agreement between the major-league Pittsburgh Pirates and the Salem organization of the Class A Carolina League will be up for renewal.
Kelvin Bowles, president and owner of Salem Professional Baseball Club, Inc., wants to renew his team's affiliation with Pittsburgh. From all indications, the Pirates' organization wants to continue its association with Salem, but a new working agreement has yet to be signed.
The main reason for that is because this is the year the standard player development contract, an agreement that binds a major-league club to its minor-league affiliate, expires. The PDC regulates the way major-league baseball works with the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, the governing body for the minors.
The Pirates' management says it wants to wait until a new player development contract is agreed upon before making an announcement about Salem.
"I'm not involved in the negotiations; that's between Kelvin and [Pittsburgh Pirates President] Carl Barger," Chuck LaMar, the Pirates' director of minor-league operations, said on a recent trip to Municipal Field. "But I've told everyone who will listen, and I made my desire known to Mr. Barger and [Pittsburgh general manager for baseball operations] Larry Doughty that we want to come back to Salem.
"The Pirates' organization has had the longest consecutive years in the Carolina League, and we have every intention of continuing that. The entire staff with Salem has treated the Pirates' organization tremendously. I couldn't ask for better cooperation from an owner or a general manager. Why would we move from the best situation for us? That's where the mutual trust has to come in."
A handshake would be good enough for Bowles; but, for all their rhetoric, the Pirates will not commit to that yet.
"Mutual trust could be done immediately," said Bowles, who reunited Salem with Pittsburgh in 1987. "If the Pittsburgh Pirates told me that after the player development contract was agreed upon we'd be ready to sign, I'd accept that. I'd give them my word, and I wouldn't be out looking for someone else. Baseball works a lot like that."
He believes LaMar is sincere about the Pirates' wanting to return to Salem, but LaMar's word isn't enough, Bowles said.
"Chuck could tell me the Pirates are going to be back and really believe it, but he's not in a position to make that decision," the owner added. "Then, later on, I could get a call from him saying, `Kelvin, I'm sorry but the organization decided to go another way.' I want Carl Barger or Larry Doughty to tell me when the PDC is done we'll be back."
It happens that Barger is on the major-league committee trying to hammer out a player development contract with Sal Artiaga, commissioner of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues.
The period between August 15 and September 15 is when either the parent club or the minor-league organization can send a registered letter saying it wants to end the affiliation.
Bowles and LaMar concede it isn't likely an agreement will be reached by then, which presents some interesting things for both sides to consider.
Salem's advertising season starts almost immediately after the baseball season ends in September. Bucs general manager Sam Lazzaro and his staff could have a hard time trying to sell a team with an unknown affiliation.
If Bowles waits too long, and the Pirates decide to go elsewhere, he could be stuck operating an independent team in 1991.
"I wouldn't want to do that," said Bowles, who is also a talent scout for the Montreal Expos. "If we were an independent, I'd be in a `Catch-22' as an Expos scout. My job would be to find and sign players for Salem. Then how could I do that for Montreal? It could cost me my scouting job. I have more invested [in Salem] than there."
A delay by Pittsburgh is risky, too.
Because the Carolina League is one of the more competitive Class A Leagues in the country, it is one of the more attractive to major-league teams.
"If I was the farm director in another organization, I would want to get into the Carolina League," LaMar said. "If it made sense logistically, I'd want to come to Salem. It's a good organization with good facilities, and there are outstanding baseball fans here. But I'm not worried about another team coming in. I think we've been good for Salem, and they've been good for us. It'll happen."
The Pirates are banking that the other major-league clubs also will wait until the PDC is settled before dealing with their affiliates.
Bowles said his first inclination is to be loyal to Pittsburgh and "not abandon ship," but the thought of being left unaffiliated is in the back of his mind.
"To tell the truth, I think [the Pirates] will be back," Bowles said. "I do not think Chuck LaMar would tell me what he has if he didn't believe it. Chuck has told me he's coming back. I just want it to go a step further. I want the people at the top to say that."
If that doesn't happen soon and another organization approaches him in mid-August, Bowles might not be able to turn his head.
"The only thing that's 100 percent is that there will be baseball [in Salem] if there's minor-league baseball," Bowles said.
\ With New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner heading up the major leagues' negotiating committee, it is not surprising that the biggest hang-up in the PDC seems to be money.
The major-league owners, although reaping the benefits of a four-year, $1.06 billion television contract with CBS and $400 million with ESPN, want the minor-league operators to shoulder more of the financial burden of player development.
The major leagues have noticed that minor-league teams are selling for millions of dollars and assume all minor-league owners are making big bucks. Not so, Bowles says.
"It's a misconception," Bowles said. "The franchise values have increased, but only when you decide to sell. Most minor-league teams aren't making a great deal of money. In my five years, I've never taken a dollar out, even my original investment. We've put it back into the team.
"It used to be the major-league owners wanted to see your financial statements every year because they wanted to make sure you'd be solvent the next year. They didn't want you to go under halfway through the season. Now they want to see if you're making any money.
"Isn't it strange that now the major-league owners don't want to affiliate with successful business people? In my mind, you'd want to work with successful business people because you get a better product and protect your investment."
by CNB