White Sox slugger Frank Thomas was submitting to a crush of interviewers Monday after a three-hour players meeting at the O’Hare Hilton, and was asked what comes next.
“We’re digging in,” he said.
Advised that the owners also were digging in, Thomas replied:
“They can dig in as much as they want to.”
A few minutes later, pitcher Donn Pall, who was among the 56 players in attendance, conceded, “The trench is already 20 feet deep. But we’re going to keep shoveling.”
So there you have it. By the time the players and owners settle their differences, they could wind up in China.
“Both sides have to come to the table and hammer out an agreement,” said Pall, who spent most of his major-league career with the White Sox and is now with the Cubs.
Don Fehr, executive director of the players association, who presided, said the players are united.
“The players will depend on one another for as long as it takes,” Fehr said.
It was Fehr’s fourth regional meeting. Four more are scheduled. When his tour is concluded, he estimated he will have spoken to about 400 players, about half the association’s membership.
He was asked if any players have mentioned the possibility of throwing in the towel and acceding to the owners’ demand for a salary cap.
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Fehr answered with a question.
“Do you mean have any players said, `We’ve gone far enough?’ “
He didn’t pause for a response and instead said: “I never talk about what players tell me. But at this point, I detect no difficulty in the players supporting the position of (the association’s) executive board.”
Then, Fehr added: “We don’t have a gag rule. The players can speak freely.”
The players, when they speak for publication, insist there are no cracks in the ranks.
“This is the only country where you can fight for what you believe in,” said Kirby Puckett, the Minnesota star. “We’re together 100 percent.”
He expressed his regrets that because of the labor-management dispute the fans have been deprived of a full season.
“People are seeing the business side of the game,” he said. “And it’s not a beautiful sight.”
Does he foresee the possibility of a compromise?
“I wish I could answer that. But I can’t say. I don’t know.”
Ozzie Guillen, the pepperpot White Sox shortstop, made the trip here from his home in Venezuela.
“Everybody in Venezuela talks about the strike,” he said. “I have to hide from people.”
Guillen acknowledged: “Like everybody else, I thought it would be a short strike. Couple of weeks and we’d be back on the field,”
Guillen predicted: “We’re going to come back. Everybody’s going to come back.”
But he didn’t say when.
“I hope the players who come to the big leagues appreciate what we’re doing for them,” Guillen said.
Because of the shortened season, the players have sacrificed 28 percent of their 1994 salaries, an estimated $230 million.
And, of course, there was talk about the formation of a third major league.
“Oh, yeah, I’d play,” insisted Randy Myers, the Cubs’ closer.
Would he take a cut in pay?
“As long as it’s a free market.”
Myers said that 10 corporations and two television networks have expressed interest in a so-called “alternate” league.
“It would be competition,” Myers said. “And the players would have more participation in the big decisions,” such as determining a fair value from television. “The way it is now, we’re not part of the process.”
Myers insisted the players are one for all and all for one, but Pall conceded, “Some guys might have their doubts. That’s why we’re having meetings like this.”
A half-hour later, I staggered into the cool night air, hailed a taxi and, in the voice of Poe’s “Raven,” said, “Take me to the nearest hardware store.”
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“What are you going there for?’ the driver asked.
I told him I was going to buy a shovel.