At the MLB owners meetings in Houston, owners agreed
not to decide on realignment until "sometime in June,"
according to Carter Gaddis of the TAMPA TRIBUNE. MLB
Commissioner Bud Selig said that realignment will take
effect in 2001, and the "one assurance given" was that the
Rangers "would move as soon as" 2001 from the AL West to the
AL Central "to facilitate an interleague rivalry" with the
Astros (TAMPA TRIBUNE, 4/18). Selig, on the Rangers: "In
September 1993, I promised now-Gov. George W. Bush that they
would eventually come to the American League Central, and I
have a moral obligation to do that" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS,
4/18). In Ft. Worth, Simon Gonzalez writes that realignment
was delayed due to "disagreements about the number of teams
per division, the number of divisions per league and the
number of wild-card playoff teams" (STAR-TELEGRAM, 4/18).
RAISING ARIZONA: Speculation has the D'Backs moving
from the NL to the AL, and USA TODAY's Hal Bodley writes the
fact that D'Backs Managing General Partner Jerry Colangelo
"isn't going down without more squawking is surprising, but
there's a hidden agenda -- money. Lots of it. Simply put,
[MLB] might have to compensate Arizona for the move."
Colangelo: "We have a $350 million investment. I would ask
how many owners can raise their hands and say they have
anything even close to that. We must protect that
investment." Devil Rays Managing General Partner Vince
Naimoli wouldn't discuss compensation, but said only, "We
just want to be treated equally" (USA TODAY, 4/18).
DON'T COUNT ON CONSOLIDATION? CNNSI.com's Mike
Berardino wrote on possible MLB consolidation under the sub-
header, "Don't Expect MLB To Downsize." Selig: "It isn't
anything that I'm really concerned about because I don't
believe it solves the problems. I wouldn't spend a lot of
time worrying about it" (CNNSI.com, 4/16).
FULL APPROVAL: MLB owners formally approved Royals
Chair David Glass' $96M purchase of the franchise. In K.C.,
Steve Rock writes that the Royals and Glass "hope to close
the legal transaction ... before the end of the month."
Once the deal is completed, Glass "expects few immediate
changes in the day-to-day operation of the club." But
Glass' son Dan -- who worked in the Royals' front office for
five years -- will take a "more active role with the team"
(K.C. STAR, 4/18). Glass added that he "wouldn't make any
radical changes at least until after the season." Glass:
"What I really want to do is reassure those folks, for the
first time in several years, that they don't have to worry
about losing their jobs" (K.C. STAR, 4/18). ESPN's Peter
Gammons, on Glass: "He knows what that organization has to
do. He knows the people in the development area that have
been really effective and really know the game, and I think
that's really important" ("Baseball Tonight," 4/17).
EXTRA INNINGS: USA TODAY's Bodley adds that MLB has
conducted a pilot program with six teams -- Braves, Indians,
Astros, Dodgers, Brewers and Mets -- "to determine how to
attract more female fans." Eisner-Sanderson consultant Len
Sanderson said, "By a 3-1 margin [women] like baseball over
other sports" (USA TODAY, 4/18)....Bob Costas appeared on
the "Tonight Show" promoting his new book, "Fair Ball."
Costas: "I think there are some things about [baseball] that
could use correcting and, in a respectful way, I try to
collect all the arguments and evidence and kind of lay it
all out." NBC's Jay Leno, talking with Costas about what he
thinks is wrong with baseball: "I have seen children go up
to players with a pen, and because the child's thing is not
a Nike or Reebok or whatever that player is signed to, the
player says, 'I'm sorry, I can't sign that.' And these kids
go away heartbroken" ("Tonight Show," NBC, 4/17).
