Acting commissioner Bud Selig, concluding his 999th day as baseball’s czar, had reassuring words for the nation’s fans Wednesday as the major-league owners launched their two-day quarterly meeting.
Asked if there was an urgency to reach a labor agreement with the Players Association, Selig said, “I don’t believe this season is in jeopardy. At this date, we are not concerned about finishing the season.”
In other words, what one mogul described as “lower level” negotiations with the players’ union will continue, but a solution to the long management-labor dispute is not imminent.
Advised that Thursday will mark the 1,000th day since he was chosen to replace Fay Vincent, baseball’s eighth commissioner, Selig said: “They have been historic and difficult. When I took over I predicted I’d be on the job two to four months. So I’m not in a position to make any more predictions.”
It was a full day of meetings for the owners. There were six committee meetings in the morning and early afternoon. The National and American League owners then separated for their own meetings. A joint 28-club session will begin at 8:30 a.m. Thursday.
There had been considerable speculation that the owners were eager for an immediate labor agreement prior to the June 19 National Labor Relations Board trial in New York to determine if management was guilty of unfair labor practices in attempting to eliminate bidding for free agents and salary arbitration.
Some of the supposed insiders said that if labor peace was not achieved by that date, the owners were risking the possibility of losing hundreds of millions of dollars. But Selig and management attorneys insisted such speculation was erroneous.
“Regardless of the decision, this is not a trial that can result in an economic penalty,” said Rob Manfred, the owners’ principal legal adviser. “It is not significant to the bigger picture.”
Gene Budig, the new American League president, told reporters that the “Palermo Report” is among the major items on Thursday’s agenda.
Prepared by former AL umpire Steve Palermo, now a special assistant to Selig, the report will explain how the length of games can be reduced by as much as 20 minutes. Budig emphasized that the umpires from both leagues have agreed they will do whatever they can to speed up the games.
Budig also reported some good news:
All of the tickets have been sold for the July 11 All-Star game at the new Ballpark in Arlington.
“We received 260,000 requests for the final 10,000 tickets available,” Budig reported. “That certainly is a strong indication of baseball’s popularity. We are hopeful this enthusiasm will carry into the second half of the season.”
Budig also revealed what appears to be an ambitious program for the construction of a half dozen new AL stadiums: in Boston, California, Detroit, Milwaukee, Minnesota and Seattle.
Asked for his timetable, Budig revealed he expected “a series of approvals within 18 months.”
He also said he “sensed a genuine interest for better facilities” and that “it would be in the best interests of those cities to protect their franchises.”
Bill Bartholomay of the Atlanta Braves, chairman of management’s ownership committee, discussed the possible sale of five clubs, including the Pittsburgh Pirates, and said the purchase of the Pittsburgh franchise will be delayed until negotiations are concluded for a new stadium.
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Other potential sales involved the California Angels, Oakland Athletics, Kansas City Royals and the Toronto Blue Jays.
Bartholomay, who also doubles as head of the owners’ commissioner’s search committee, reported that a new commissioner is not likely to be chosen until a labor agreement is reached.
“Right now everything’s on the back burner,” Bartholomay said.
Told Selig’s reign was approaching the 1,000th day, Bartholomay observed, “These have been tough times but he’s done a very good job.”