Any hope for Congress to intervene in the baseball strike
"wilted on the Senate floor" when Howard Metzenbaum (D-OH)
withdrew his legislation that would have temporarily lifted the
exemption. Metzenbaum's "surrender" came during a "spirited
debate" as he attempted to attach his amendment to an
appropriations bill. But with bipartisan opposition forming and
the likelihood of a "second amendment that would cripple his
rider," the retiring Metzenbaum passed "the baton" to his
colleagues, Orrin Hatch in particular (Larry Whiteside, BOSTON
GLOBE, 10/1). Acting MLB Commissioner Bud Selig said the clubs
were "grateful for the overwhelming support," but claimed the
"No" votes in the Senate would have been about 2/3 (THE DAILY).
MLBPA Exec Dir Don Fehr said the union would lobby Congress again
on the matter when it reconvenes in January (Claire Smith, N.Y.
TIMES, 10/1). WHAT'S NEXT? Peter Gammons writes the MLBPA
will file a complaint with the NLRB to try to block a possible
owners' impasse declaration, but with the "November 1 Total Chaos
date on the horizon, no one moves." Two problems the owners may
not have considered if they plan to use replacement players: 1)
The Blue Jays cannot open the season without an agreement because
it is against Ontario law to use replacement labor; 2) It may be
impossible to get work visas for foreign players to work as
replacements, as some owners hoped to do with Hispanic players
(BOSTON GLOBE, 10/2).
BASEBALL NOTES: The owners informed ABC and NBC they will
decide in a month whether they intend to renew The Baseball
Network for '96. The original deal allows for any of the
partners to opt out if the combined revenues for '94-'95 didn't
reach $330M, which is virtually impossible because of the strike
(Mark Maske, WASHINGTON POST, 10/1).
