From the moment a four-paragraph fax officially proclaimed the end of the season, all speculation has moved away from what might have been – possibly “the best baseball season in 50 years,” mourned President Clinton – to what might be. About all that is truly certain is that the World Series, which over nine decades has survived world wars, scandal, natural disaster and even George Steinbrenner, was canceled because baseball’s latest generation of owners and players preferred to play a different game. “It is embarrassing,” said New York Yankees star Don Mattingly, who has been deprived of what was to be his first post-season appearance in an otherwise illustrious career. “We have failed the fans.”
The most likely scenario remains that the owners and players will resolve their differences. Both sides have satisfactorily dissed – disdained, disgusted, all the disses but distinguished – the other, and now, out of the glare of the spotlight, can finally move beyond public posturing. Each has strong incentives to settle in plenty of time for spring training. The owners need to sell tickets and shore up their broadcast partners. For all the brave talk, they recognize the folly of trying to use replacement players; witness the fact that only Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott, who even among this batch of owners passes for class clown, supported the notion this time round. The players, who clearly underestimated the owners’ resolve, need to settle their own individual futures; only about 180 players, less than one third of the 1994 major-league rosters, are under contract for ‘95 and know both what they would be paid and by whom. (Ball clubs do retain the rights to many others, including major stars such as Ken Griffey Jr., Barry Bonds and Frank Thomas.)
While a speedy settlement may be the happiest solution for the addicted fans, the vast army of more casual fans clearly desires some blood sport – revenge. That frenzy has helped fuel enthusiasm for a new league being spearheaded by Dick Moss, former general counsel to the Major League Players Association. Moss, who in 1989 tried to start a league out of baseball’s labor woes, says he is proceeding with plans for an eight- to 12-team league that would begin play, using free agents, this April. “It’s very important to preserve the continuity of baseball on the field,” he says. Marvin Miller, the dean of baseball bargaining, says a new league is a possibility – with tons of capital, a major load of litigation and the optimism of, say, a San Diego Padres season-ticket holder. “Are there any real capitalists out there?” he wonders. “Where are the risk-takers of mythology?”
In other words, don’t check your TV listings for the new league any too soon. Few really believe that one could emerge as early as next season. “It’s just not something you do overnight for some PR points,” says Andrew Zimbalist, author of “Baseball and Billions” and a consultant to the players union. There are numerous obstacles, the biggest of which is access to enough decent stadiums. Also, the union, with its 1,000-plus members, including top minor-leaguers, might not rush to embrace a new enterprise that would employ no more than a quarter of them, says Zimbalist. “It’s better than none of them having jobs,” counters Moss. Zimbalist – and many agents echo his belief – says a new league is “very feasible” in, perhaps, two or three years. The parlous state of baseball’s labor negotiations could ultimately loose – as a result of a players’ lawsuit or an owners’ salary cap – a leagueful of quality free agents.
An autumn barnstorming tour seems less unwieldy and far less costly, given the legions of ballplayers already on the payroll of a company like Nike. But there are real hurdles. “The paragraph on preclusions is the longest part of a ballplayer’s contract,” says agent Barry Axelrod. Even though the players remain on strike, they can’t afford to jeopardize their contracts for a short-term lark, and baseball owners aren’t likely to be especially generous about offering dispensation. Still, the very discussion of such radical ideas ensures that major-league baseball will be played again. Will the game be the same – and will anyone much care?
