MLB TAPS SOBBA TO BE ITS WASHINGTON LOBBYIST

          MLB named Alan Sobba as its new Dir of Government
     Relations.  Sobba is a DC lawyer and businessperson who had
     spent 12 years at the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. 
     His areas of policy expertise include appropriations,
     economics, marketing, judicial concerns, the federal budget,
     international trade and taxation (MLB).  The WASHINGTON
     POST's Mark Maske reports that Sobba is scheduled to begin
     working for MLB on June 1 and will "coordinate" MLB's
     "lobbying efforts on matters such as the team owners' 75-
     year-old exemption from federal antitrust laws."  Sobba: "I
     view my responsibility as being baseball's voice on the Hill
     on these issues.  It's a big challenge, but it's also a
     great opportunity. ... I think the main reason they hired me
     is I know how the process works and I'll aggressively pursue
     their interests" (WASHINGTON POST, 5/21).