MLB owners begin meetings in Atlanta today through
Thursday in "an attempt to realign" the AL and NL, according
to I.J. Rosenberg of the ATLANTA CONSTITUTION. The 13-
member realignment committee will meet "early this evening,"
then MLB's Executive Council will meet. On Wednesday, the
leagues will meet separately and the full group of owners
will convene Thursday, "for a possible vote on realignment"
(ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 9/16). In Chicago, Jerome Holtzman
writes that Acting Commissioner Bud Selig, "aware he doesn't
have the votes" for a radical realignment plan, "may
downsize." Holtzman writes that, "in the final version, if
there is one, there would be only three or four" team
relocations (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 9/16). In Milwaukee, Tom
Haudricourt reports the measure could be tabled if no
proposal gains enough support (JOURNAL SENTINEL, 9/16).
RINGOLSBY ON MAGOWAN: In Denver, Tracy Ringolsby writes
on Giants Owner Peter Magowan, who has threatened to sue MLB
if the A's are put in the same NL division as the Giants.
Ringolsby: "In his short-range view, he sees a threat of
erosion of his fan base. ... But that prompts the question:
What fan base?" Noting the attendance "woes" of both the
A's and Giants, Ringolsby asks, "Could a realignment that
puts them both in the NL do any further harm? ... [B]y the
turn of the century only one team will remain in the Bay
Area. The Giants' plan for a new stadium makes them the
favorite ... Magowan is so blinded by the red ink of the
present that he can't see what is needed for a rose-colored
future" (ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, 9/16).
