Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 31, 1994 TAG: 9408020038
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Unlike the one being called these days by the umpires, there's nothing shrinking about the other strike zone in major-league baseball.
The Aug.12 strike date set by the players' union Thursday promises the eighth work stoppage in the national pastime's past 23 seasons. As usual in these greedfests, the players already are to first base in a significant part of this game. They have made a quick pitch to the fans.
The players said they will strike on Aug.12 because that date would allow for a resumption of the season, should a settlement be reached. There also had been talk that the players would strike Aug.16, after a payday. Then the proposed date was pushed back to Aug.19 - after the players realized some Aug.15 checks wouldn't have cleared the banks.
By going out a week earlier, the players are trying to minimize the fan reaction to their greed. It's a very tough sell to Joe Bleacher Bum. The average player salary this season is $1.2 million. That's for 7 1/2 months of work. Someone with annual pay of $30,000 would need 40 years to earn that.
The bottom line in this latest players-owners battle - and why do the negotiations never seem to begin until the top of the ninth? - is that both sides are crying their way to the bank.
Bud Selig, the pseudo-commissioner, claims that 19 of 28 franchises are losing money. What he doesn't say is that when a franchise sells, the rich only get richer. The players, who started the summer by saying they only wanted the status quo, now are seeking a higher minimum salary and more playoff bucks.
The good news for fans is that if you have a ticket for Aug.13 or after, it is refundable. The last strike, in 1985, lasted two days. This one promises to be much longer. The owners have less to settle for, and even those who are drowning in red ink won't be able to force a settlement. The owners have changed their Basic Agreement ratification from a simple majority (15 votes) to a three-quarters majority (21 votes).
In the past, the potential revenue loss percentage was greater for the owners, who now are playing with a diminished television package that is worth about half of the former one. If the postseason strikes out, each club will lose about $5 million in TV revenue, but once the season is over, if the players still are striking, the owners can institute their desired salary cap under federal labor law.
As usual, the players appear much more unified than the owners. Consider Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos' remarks in The Sun last week. He said the economic solution for baseball's revenue-sharing arguments wasn't the salary cap the owners are asking the players to swallow. Rather, he said every club should build a Camden Yards - because fans flock to nice, new ballparks and make those clubs much richer.
Of course, Angelos is one of the haves who would be forced to share his bucks with the Pittsburghs and the Milwaukees. He is right about one thing: If the owners hope to get the players to agree to a salary cap, the clubs will have to open their books and prove that baseball has more reds than the team in Cincinnati.
So much for the owners playing this one as a team. Still, it appears that the average player should be prepared to lose about $6,980 daily during a long strike. Some clubs have told their front-office employees that if a strike occurs, they should file for unemployment insurance.
And what about player development? If the big leagues are shut down into next season, the minors could stay home to cut costs. If Salem builds a field of dreams, who can be sure they will come?
With less than two weeks until the strike date, the majors have 11 teams three games or closer to first place. By October, Baltimore could be out of the wild-card chase because it doesn't have an NFL team. To the game's ever-faithful fans, this could be an August with far too many dog days.
Ted Williams once said the hardest thing to do in sports was to hit a baseball. But the hardest thing to do in baseball is to be a fan.
Write to Jack Bogacyzk at the Roanoke Times & World-News, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, 24010
by CNB