Richard Ravitch, chief negotiator for the owners, and
representatives of the MLBPA are scheduled to testify before the
House Education and Labor Committee's Subcommittee on Labor-
Management Relations on Thursday. MLBPA Exec Dir Don Fehr is not
expected to appear. Subcommittee Chairman Pat Williams (D-MT)
proposes convening a 3-member arbitration board -- one owner rep,
one MLBPA rep and one member of the American Arbitration
Association -- on February 1 if there is no settlement by then.
Williams: "Binding arbitration should only be a last resort. ...
But I find myself seething about this strike. I'm having this
hearing as a fan who happens to be the chairman of this
subcommittee. I've made up my mind to raise legislative hell to
get this thing settled" (Mark Maske, WASHINGTON POST, 9/27).
THE NEW LEAGUE: Agent Tom Selakovich said details on a new
baseball league "could be forthcoming in 10 days": "I wouldn't
call it a joke." Dick Moss, the "main mover" behind the league
as well as a similar plan "stillborn" in 1989, still expects to
make his announcement on October 19. Agent Scott Boras: "Dick
has a network left from the 1989 plan and he's said to have
principals willing to invest." Cubs Player Rep Randy Myers said
there are "10-plus corporations" and "a couple of broadcasting
stations" willing to sign on (Jim Byers, TORONTO STAR, 9/27).
DON FEHR'S TOUR OF AMERICA: 56 players attended a briefing
by Don Fehr in Chicago yesterday -- the 4th of seven stops.
White Sox slugger Frank Thomas: "We're digging in" (Jerome
Holtzman, CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 9/27).
SCENES FROM AN ITALIAN RESTAURANT: Orioles Owner Peter
Angelos said his private meeting with Fehr in Little Italy
Saturday was done without the knowledge of MLB officials. But he
made no apologies: "It would be helpful if Don Fehr and his
associates had personal contact on a periodic basis with every
owner in the major leagues, both American and National. ... What
I was doing is what all owners should do" (Mark Hyman, Baltimore
SUN, 9/27).
