MLB owners are "urging" Blue Jays President Paul
Beeston to "consider moving to New York" to become MLB's COO
in what could lead the way to co-commissioners, according to
Bill Madden of the N.Y. DAILY NEWS. Madden noted that MLB
owners "are thoroughly disenchanted" with MLBE CEO Greg
Murphy, and there is also "a growing belief among the owners
that no outsider could galvanize them in the manner [Acting
Commissioner] Bud Selig has." Madden: "Selig remains the
even-money choice to remove the word 'acting' from his
commissioner's title. He would relinquish his interest in
the Brewers, putting the team into a trust, and ... would
run the game, hand-in-hand, with Beeston" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS,
3/23). In Dallas, Ken Daley noted Selig remaining as Acting
Commissioner despite his statements that he would step down
after "labor peace was achieved." Daley: "Even as fans
cautiously return to the game, Selig's continued presence as
the sport's chief executive remains an impediment to many
who might otherwise be willing to embrace baseball once
more" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 3/23).
FANS ROUNDING HOME? An AP poll shows that "enthusiasm"
for MLB "has failed to bounce back two years after the
players' strike." The poll shows that 47% of Americans
reported "lower interest" in attending MLB games since the
strike as compared with 30% who said "interest is back to
normal." Other findings: 55% of fans said the cost of
attending a game is too high; 54% said interleague games are
a "change for the better," while 12% said "it's a change for
the worse." Asked about the desire to attend a game, 26%
said interest "is a lot lower" than it was before the
strike; 21% said it was a little lower; 30% said it's back
to normal; while 6% said interest is higher. The poll of
1,000 adults was taken by telephone March 5-9, by ICRO of
Media, PA. It has a +/- of 3% (HARTFORD COURANT, 3/23).
TAKING THE PULSE AT SPRING TRAINING: In DC, the
WASHINGTON POST's David Maraniss wrote an extensive feature
on Spring Training '97 under the header, "The Rancor Of The
Strike Is A Distant Memory. Everything Is Fine Again. ...
Or Is It?" Maraniss, on his tour of FL Spring Training:
"The ballpark attendance during those two weeks in March was
generally good but uneven, as were the spirits of the
crowds, lending only partial support to the contention of
Bud Selig ... that America's love affair with baseball is in
full bloom this spring" (WASHINGTON POST, 3/23).
