MLB Commissioner Bud Selig told Ken Daley of the DALLAS
MORNING NEWS that he does not "even want to think about"
another work stoppage for MLB. Asked if a salary cap is a
solution to the league's economic disparity, he answered, "I
don't want to get into the solutions." On changing the TV
start time of playoff and World Series games: "We're going
to be talking to Fox about that." On possible expansion,
Selig said, "We couldn't even think about more expansion
right now. In fact, if there was anything I could take back
from the 1990s, it's probably the fact that we expanded too
much. ... I know some people have talked about contraction,
and everything is open to discussion right now" (DALLAS
MORNING NEWS, 12/10). In N.Y., Murray Chass cited a team
exec stating that Selig is "studying contraction." Selig:
"I can't honestly say I've done that. There are people who
like contraction." Chass: "Even if it is only a signal to
owners to discuss the issue, the commissioner seems to have
changed his position on contraction. ... Eliminating two to
six teams, some proponents believe, would be ideal, creating
a higher quality of baseball as well as lower salaries.
Montreal, Minnesota, Oakland and two Florida teams are the
candidates most often mentioned." Meanwhile, with MLB
revenue sharing, the Expos will receive a league-high $24M,
with the Twins receiving about $21M, earning "more money
than" the $16.5M they paid their players." The Yankees
($22M) and Mets ($18M) paid the most (N.Y. TIMES, 12/10).
NOTES: MLB hired Bob Watson to supervise issues on the
pace of games (N.Y. TIMES, 12/11)....The AP's Stephen
Hawkins reported that MLB teams "have made marginal
increases" since '97 in the number of minority employees,
but the percentage of black employees among clubs declined.
A survey showed that 764 minorities (22%) were among 3,415
people employed by the 30 MLB teams on June 30, up from the
20% in '97. The number of black club employees dropped from
11% to 10%, while Hispanic employees rose from 7% to 9% and
Asian employees increased from 2% to 3% (AP, 12/10).
