ROANOKE TIMES 

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, August 24, 1993                   TAG: 9308240033
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW YORK                                 LENGTH: Medium

PLAYERS LIKELY TO REJECT PLAN

The chances are "very small" that major league baseball players will agree to a proposed playoff format involving four division winners and four second-place teams starting next season, union chief Donald Fehr said Monday.

The owners approved the change in the playoff setup at their quarterly meetings last June, but have yet to officially vote on a new format. The owners would prefer, at least for 1994, the four division winners and the four second-place teams.

Fehr said the union is open to negotiations, but didn't consider it likely the players will agree to the owners' current version. The owners don't think a schedule for the players' version of three division winners and a wildcard team can be in place by next season.

The additional round of playoffs was established by the owners as part of the new TV venture with ABC and NBC. Next season's playoffs are scheduled to be televised by NBC with ABC carrying the World Series.

There also have been reports that the owners might decide to keep things the way they are - four division winners - until the 1995 season.

In a letter to owners' representative Richard Ravitch, Fehr wrote, "If the additional round of playoffs is a good idea, then the additional round of playoffs should begin next year, in 1994. If it is not a good idea, then we should dispense with it altogether."

Fehr said the players are concerned the playoffs and regular season will be diluted if the four second-place teams qualify.

"The players do not believe it is a good idea to conduct an additional round of playoffs within the traditional two-league, four-division structure, with the eight playoff teams being the first- and second-place finishers in the existing four divisions.

"Simply put, the obvious damage that format would do to the nature of the divisional championship races makes this approach untenable." 


 by CNB