This weekend is the first anniversary of the beginning of the baseball strike, so I called Charlie Finley, former owner of the Oakland A’s, and asked for his views. What I’ve always admired about Finley is that he has a different spin. Once again, he didn’t disappoint me.
“They’re not striking,” he said. “They’re playing ball.”
I couldn’t have said it better.
There is no strike. What’s absent is a labor agreement between the owners and the players. And because of this we are constantly hearing there is great concern among the fans. They are puzzled. They don’t know if they should go to the ballpark. They don’t want to become emotionally involved if the season is aborted, as it was last year, along with cancellation of the playoffs and World Series.
My advice is: Don’t worry about it. The season will be played to a finish, and sooner or later there will be an agreement.
As Bill Bartholomay, chairman of the board of the Atlanta Braves, said:
“Even the 30 Years War came to an end.”
I doubt it will take that long.
Still, some sort of assessment is in order. Here we are a year later and there have been no serious negotiations.
When lawyers for both sides last sat at the bargaining table, on March 20, various luxury taxes were proposed. Simply put, the owners want to install a tax that would penalize the fat-cat moguls who have the highest player payrolls. The union agrees with the concept, but not with the numbers. It prefers a low tax so as not to impede salary growth.
When the players struck, some of them chuckled and said, in effect, “Great, the owners are going to take a bath.” True, the owners were taken to the showers. They have since suffered actual losses of about $600 million to $700 million.
But what the players didn’t seem to grasp is they would lose, too. Their combined salary loss since last August is estimated at $350 million–29 percent of their pay last year and 11 percent this year because of the reduction from 162 to 144 games.
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In addition, there has been a severe diminishment of player compensation, especially among the veterans who were free agents. This is something the players didn’t anticipate. Stiffened with unprecedented resolve after the players came back to work, the owners hacked away and cut their pay in unprecedented proportions.
Some examples:
– Catcher Pat Borders, previously at $2.5 million, was signed for $310,000.
– Pitcher Bud Black went from $3.3 million to $250,000.
– Pitcher Dave Stewart, from $4.2 million to $1 million.
– Outfielder Andre Dawson, from $4.3 million to $500,000.
– Outfielder Candy Maldonado, from $1.7 million to $150,000.
– Outfielder Andy Van Slyke, from $3.6 million to $550,000.
– Catcher Benito Santiago, from $3.8 million to $550,000.
There are an additional dozen examples of players now playing for one-third or one-fourth of their previous salaries. Remarkably, the chorus from the players (except those affected) has been that the owners have finally wised up; they never had to pay those high salaries to begin with.
The owners have been listening.
Said Bill Giles of the Philadelphia Phillies:
“This winter more players are going to be disappointed.”
Obviously, it has been a costly experience for the players. That is why they are unlikely to strike again soon. To call a strike, union chief Don Fehr would need a minimum 80 percent authorization. A 50-50 split would result in chaos and an easy management victory.
Gene Budig, the new American League president, says the fans have taught the owners and players a lesson.
“They have spoken by their absence and have sent us a powerful message,” he said. “They want no more disruptions and will settle for nothing less than a long-term agreement. It’s time for all of us, owners and players, to prove they have been listening to the fans.”