Baseball owners and players will meet again at the
bargaining table again Tuesday. "The question is whether they
have anything serious to discuss." Union officials would not say
yesterday whether they will have a counter-proposal ready for the
session, which will take place at a conference center outside of
Washington, DC. At the last session, nine days ago, the owners
put an escalating payroll tax plan on the table that the players
have already said "is impractical in its present form." The two
sides are to meet separately today with Special Mediator William
Usery (I.J. Rosenberg, ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 11/28). The Tuesday
session could be brief "because the players are expected to
reject the tax proposal the owners made last week and they will
not have the counterproposal the owners hope to see" (Murray
Chass, N.Y. TIMES, 11/26).
DECLARING AN IMPASSE: It appears the owners are close to
declaring an impasse and imposing their salary cap. They have a
meeting for all 28 owners scheduled for December 5 in Chicago,
where such a move would likely take place (Mult., 11/25-28). In
a memo dated November 22, MLBPA Exec Dir Donald Fehr warned the
players of the owners' intentions (Murray Chass, N.Y. TIMES,
11/26). Braves President Stan Kasten said some system either
agreed by both sides, or implemented by the owners, has to be in
place by Dec. 6, because the next day is the deadline for clubs
to offer arbitration (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 11/28). In
Baltimore, Tom Keegan predicts without a settlement by spring
training, the new Congress will repeal the labor portion of
baseball's antitrust exemption (Baltimore SUN, 11/27).
BAGWELL OF GIFTS: Both Phil Rogers (Dallas) and Tracy
Ringolsby (Denver) note that the signing of Jeff Bagwell by the
Astros may give a clue to what baseball's economics will look
like post-settlement. Rogers notes that the owners are offering
a new tier of restricted free agency for five- and six-year
players in both proposals on the table. "Some believe owners
eventually will sweeten the deal by taking away the right-of-
first refusal to match offers for those players, rolling back the
threshold for free agency from six years to four years." Bagwell
was at the end of his 4th year (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 11/27).
Ringolsby notes that Houston is one of the teams in "financial
limbo." Astros owners Drayton McLane has projected losses of
more than $22M for '94, and Astros GM Bob Watson has been
"ordered" to get the '95 payroll below $30M (ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS,
11/27).
REVENUE SHARING: The N.Y. TIMES obtained a copy of the so-
called revenue sharing plan the owners agreed upon in Ft.
Lauderdale last January. Fifteen teams would have to pay into
the fund in proportion to their revenue: Yankees, Blue Jays,
Braves, Orioles, Dodgers, White Sox, Red Sox, Mets, Rangers,
Indians, Phillies, Cubs, Giants, Tigers and Athletics. And 11
teams would receive pay outs from the $22.957M fund: Cardinals,
Astros, Reds, Angels, Royals, Mariners, Brewers, Twins, Expos,
Pirates and Padres. The two expansion teams are exempt. Figures
are based on '94 pre-strike projections (Murray Chass, N.Y.
TIMES, 11/25).
