Page One

Players are relieved the
deadline has been put off 

CHICAGO — Baseball players backed off setting a strike date Monday, saying they were hopeful recent progress in bargaining talks could lead to an agreement by the end of the week. 

“We feel like there’s a window of opportunity to get something done in the next several days and we’re willing to explore that,” Atlanta’s Tom Glavine said following a 3 1/2-hour meeting of the union’s executive board. 

Glavine, a senior member of the board, said players were prepared to give the negotiating process “every chance to succeed.” Talks were to continue Tuesday in New York, and the board scheduled a telephone conference call Friday to review developments. 

“There has been progress on a number of issues over the last several days,” union head Donald Fehr said. “It would be very nice if that progress continued and we reached a deal in short order. That’s the goal.” 

By delaying setting a deadline, the union increases pressure on the owners without the threat of an imminent walkout. 

“You establish a date when you believe it is essential to reach an agreement, bearing in mind that a strike is the last thing the players want. And we are not at that point yet,” Fehr said. 

Rob Manfred, the owners’ top labor lawyer, called the decision “a positive step.” 

“We look forward to getting back to the bargaining table, and hope we can reach a negotiated agreement without any need for the interruption of the season,” he said. “Both parties feel pressure to reach an agreement because of the enormity of the harm that would be caused by a strike.” 

A strike date seemed inevitable once the executive board scheduled a meeting. Making it seem even more ominous was that exactly eight years ago, baseball ground to a halt on this date, laid low by labor issues that eventually cost fans 921 games and a World Series. The 1994 strike lasted 232 days and was the longest stoppage in the history of U.S. major sports. 

Eighteen teams were off Monday, and about 50 players attended the meeting, with more listening in on a telephone conference call. Fehr said players didn’t want to have a public confrontation so close to the anniversary of last year’s terrorist attacks. 

“Sure it’s a factor,” he said. “Players understand Sept. 11. Half were on road when it hit.” 

Both sides pointed out how they had moved closer to an agreement since the talks began in January. 

Last week, they agreed on a $100,000 raise in the minimum salary to $300,000 and to mandatory random testing for steroids. But they are still apart on the key issues of increased revenue sharing among the 30 teams and management’s desire for a luxury tax on high-payroll clubs. 

“I think both parties have shown flexibility in an attempt to get to a common ground with respect to those core economic issues,” Manfred said. 

Fehr spoke with commissioner Bud Selig before the meeting, but declined to reveal details of the conversation. “We talked about the overall situation in bargaining, the hopes we had as to what might transpire in the next few days,” Fehr said. 

At ballparks, players were relieved a deadline had been put off. 

“Everybody is a winner if we can get through this thing without setting a strike date,” Colorado’s Larry Walker said. 

“If they come to the table and give us what we’re looking for, there won’t be a strike,” Chicago Cubs star Sammy Sosa said. 

In Crawford, Texas, White House deputy press secretary Scott McClellan said a strike “would be a terrible thing to have happen.” President Bush, the former owner of the Texas Rangers, has “not been involved in any way,” McClellan said. 

“But it is clear,” he added, “that a strike would be unfortunate and terrible for baseball fans across America, and the president is an avid baseball fan.” 

The luxury tax appears to be the most difficult issue, with Fehr describing it “as a big hurdle.” While there was a luxury tax in place in 1997, 1998 and 1999, owners viewed it as largely ineffective. The key to finding a deal may be finding a tax level that can satisfy management’s desire to restrain salaries while not slowing them so much that players would strike over the issue. 

Owners made a new luxury tax proposal Sunday but Manfred declined to discuss it. He said that session “kind of got things back on track a little bit.” 

“It is possible to get an agreement in the very near future,” Manfred said, without giving a specific time period. 

Finding a way to slow salaries has been a perennial management goal, but players would like to keep things the way they are. Since 1976, the last season before free agency, the average salary has jumped from $51,500 to $2.38 million, a 46-fold increase. 

Baseball has had eight work stoppages in since 1972. Players don’t want to finish the season without a contract, which expired Nov. 6, fearful owners will lock them out or change works rules. The union’s preference has been to control the timing of a confrontation, preferring late in the season, when more money is at stake for owners.