ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, June 26, 1996 TAG: 9606260022
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
COLORADO OWNER Jerry McMorris and GM Bob Gebhard come to Salem to take look at Avalanche.
Colorado Rockies owner Jerry McMorris was in town to watch some young baseball players before they become union activists.
McMorris and Rockies general manager Bob Gebhard visited Monday night to see the Salem Avalanche, their top Class A affiliate.
``I enjoy seeing our players and our staff and putting some faces with names,'' McMorris said before Monday's Salem-Prince William game at Salem Memorial Stadium. ``It's a lot like watching your own family grow up.''
Of course, today's minor leaguers can grow up to become tomorrow's major leaguers and players' union members. McMorris learned that dealing with the union can be a difficult and devastating task when he became one of the owners' chief negotiators during the players' strike that forced the cancellation of the 1994 World Series.
McMorris said baseball is in the early stages of a recovery period, one that won't be pockmarked by the acrimonious discourse that was constantly featured on television sportscasts and in sports pages.
``My sense is that the sport overall is recovering,'' said McMorris. ``Obviously, it's stronger in some places than in others. We still need to get our labor agreement resolved and get our permanent commissioner and work on our marketing side. All those things are moving in a positive direction.
``There has been a lot of progress toward a labor agreement the last few weeks. [The talks] haven't been in the media as much. There's a window now to get it done. We'd like to get it over by the All-Star Game. If not, then the next logical window would be by the end of the season.''
McMorris' team is one of the clubs that came through the strike unscathed. The Rockies have played in front of 89 straight sellouts at Coors Field and tickets are scarce the remainder of the season.
Although attendance is up approximately 7 percent from a year ago - when it plummeted 20 percent after the strike - many fans have still not returned to the ballpark.
``The events of the strike and the horrible attendance were like a cold shower to the owners, players and player representatives. All we did was sour a lot of fans.''
Nevertheless, the Rockies are a sweet success on the field and at the box office. Although the Avalanche has not drawn as well as expected, Rockies farm teams in Asheville, N.C., and New Haven, Conn., have done well and the short-season Portland (Ore.) Rockies played in front of nearly 20,000 fans in their season opener last week.
``Minor-league baseball is part of the real fabric of America,'' said McMorris. ``Most baseball people told me that it would take six or seven years to get our minor-league system fully loaded. We're closing in on that, but most people would already put us in the top third of all minor-league systems.''
It was the first visit to Salem this year for McMorris, who had watched a game at aging Municipal Field last season while Memorial was under construction.
After a tour of the new digs, including a visit to the spacious clubhouse (which was a little less comfortable than usual because of an air-conditioning breakdown), McMorris voiced his approval of the place.
``A lot of big-league parks aren't as nice,'' said McMorris. ``Bigger, but not nicer.''
LENGTH: Medium: 69 linesby CNB