New King of Swat

Peter V. Ueberroth is off to an impressive start as the commissioner of baseball--a surprising and welcome change from the generally weak commissioners who have held the post since Kenesaw Mountain Landis ruled the sport. Some might criticize Ueberroth’s most recent decision lifting the ban on Hall of Famers Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays, who had been barred from baseball for taking jobs with New Jersey gambling casinos, but it was a gutsy thing to do, as many of his decisions so far have been.

The new commissioner sent a clear signal of his independence in the first days of his stewardship at the end of last season, when he appointed himself arbitrator of the umpires’ strike and then promptly ruled that umpires were underpaid and owners must pay them more. This from a man who is an employee of the owners and who serves at their pleasure. Ueberroth has tried to distance himself from the current labor negotiations with players, but remarks that he made a few months ago to a meeting of the players’ union were interpreted by some owners as being overly friendly to the hired help. More recently Ueberroth has told the owners that they should be prepared to open their books to the players--something that they have consistently refused to do.

He has also tempted the wrath of at least some owners by negotiating new television deals that allow all teams to share in revenues from broadcasting games on superstations. Under the agreement, five teams that previously had kept the superstation money for themselves must now share it with the others.

How long Ueberroth can get away with it remains to be seen. His predecessors generally declined to cross the owners--usually with good reason, as Bowie Kuhn’s experience showed. If only a few owners become disenchanted with the commissioner, the commissioner may soon be looking for new work. Will Ueberroth have more success? He certainly seems willing to find out.