Selig Wants Owners To Stop Taking Schotts At Each Other
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A’s Pitching Hard For Expansion
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After A's co-Owner Steve Schott "delivered his most passionate
and heartfelt argument" about building a new ballpark in the South Bay area,
MLB Commissioner Bud Selig "continued to maintain his stance on [the] territorial
rights" to the area belonging to the Giants, according to Josh Suchon of the
OAKLAND TRIBUNE. As Schott accused the Giants and Managing General Partner Peter
Magowan of "'crying
a lot' about the issue," Selig said, "I'm always sensitive about owners
pounding on owners. It's one thing that used to go on a lot. Now it's stopped.
But I'm going to talk with both clubs." Suchon added that Schott floated the
idea of "having big corporations sponsor a player" as a way to keep the team's
top three starting pitchers — Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito. Selig:
"I have to think more about it. That has never worked before. I know how he
feels about the continuing exodus of players. Frankly, the way to deal with
that problem is to get him a new ballpark, so he can do it himself" (OAKLAND
TRIBUNE, 3/14). More Selig: "The territorial situation is what it is. I've
described it in the past and it's no different today. We have internal rules
and the internal rules are essential to running the game" (CONTRA COSTA TIMES,
3/14).
SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY: In Baltimore, Peter Schmuck reported
Schott "claims that the Giants are trying to have it both ways, since they originally
got permission to move south, but ended up building their new ballpark right
at the entrance to the Oakland Bay Bridge." Schott said that when the Giants
were planning to build a ballpark in the South Bay, the "had to get permission
from the A's." Schott: "They didn't pay for these territorial rights, by the
way. Now, in the meantime, they built a stadium closer to Oakland than they
were before. And now, if we talk about another stadium down in that area they
go berserk." Schott would not "entirely rule out a legal battle" over the territorial
rights (Baltimore SUN, 3/14).
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