Baseball Lurches Toward New Strike : The Questions Appear Simple, but Answers Are Complicated

Ask anybody--players, owners, fans--what today’s threatened baseball strike is all about and you’ll get the same answer--greed.

The players say they just want their fair share of the financial pie. The owners say, if the players get the chunk they want, it will leave many owners starving. All the fans know is that they provided the pie and they are the ones who are going to go hungry.

The pie is bigger than it’s ever been before. There are more fans paying more money to view baseball than ever before. The television networks are paying a record amount for broadcast rights. The players are making more than ever.

So what in the world is there to strike over?

The question is simple; the answers are complicated.

Question: What is the main issue?

Answer: Right now, there is only one--arbitration. Under the owners’ proposal, a player would have to put in three years, rather than the current requirement of two, to be eligible for arbitration. And, arbitration awards would be limited to no more than a 100% increase over the previous year. There are now no limits. The players want the status quo.

Q: Why is this such an important issue?

A: Ask St. Louis Cardinal pitcher Joaquin Andujar. The National League’s only 20-game winner last season, Andujar made $310,000 on the last year of his contract. He went into arbitration asking for $1.26 million. The Cardinals offered $1 million. He lost, settling for the $1 million. Under the owners’ proposal, the most he could have made would have been $620,000. In the last four years, with arbitration in effect, the average player salary has risen from $185,000 to $363,000.

Q: Are there other issues?

A: Yes, but both sides seem willing to compromise. One issue is the players’ pension fund. Traditionally, it has received one-third of the owners’ network-television package. In 1984, that meant $15.5 million for the pension fund. But the owners are now operating under a $1.1 billion, 6-year network deal, which would mean $60 million for the pension fund, nearly four times the current amount.

The players wanted that $60 million until Sunday, when they indicated they would settle for $40 million if current arbitration procedures remain unchanged.

The owners have offered to increase pension payments by $10 million, but would cut that by $1 million for every $1 million the total player payroll goes over a $13-million limit.

Q: Wasn’t a salary cap, similar to the one in the National basketball Assn., proposed?

A: Yes. The owners had asked for a salary cap but later dropped that proposal when the players agreed to drop some of their pension fund demands.

Q: Four years ago, baseball suffered through a 50-day strike. Were the two sides fighting over the same issues as today?

A: No. There was one issue in 1981--free agency. The players had won it in the courts in the 1970s. The owners saw it as a threat to the stability of the game. The eventual settlement, after seven weeks of bargaining, involved a complicated system of compensation for teams losing free agents.

Q: How much would a strike cost?

A: That depends on who is doing the figuring. The city of Anaheim, which owns Anaheim Stadium, estimates it will lose $47,000 per game the Angels don’t play, figuring the percentage it receives from parking, tickets and concessions. The Dodgers, a private corporation, do not release financial information, but it is known the club lost an estimated $7.6 million in unsold tickets and concessions in the 1981 strike.

The Chicago Assn. of Commerce and Industry estimates that wiping out the last third of both the Cub and White Sox seasons would cost the city anywhere between $25 million and $60 million.

Joe Mitchell, Chicago association president, told the Associated Press: “The losses start with the concession owners and ballpark employees and spread to businesses near the parks--taverns, for instance, that depend on baseball. Then the roll begins, with layoffs and firings.

“Once the losses are converted into salaries, you’re then talking about mortgages not being paid, items not being bought and a lot of the things every family needs not moving out of the stores.”

Dennis McGee, spokesman for the state of Maryland, estimates the loss of the Orioles could run a little over a $1 million a game for the state economy.

Q: How much would it cost the ballplayers?

A: Today’s highest-paid player is the Philadelphia Phillies’ Mike Schmidt, who is supposed to make $2,130,000 this year. A strike will cost him $13,148 a game. Not a lot at his salary? Look at it this way. If this strike were to last as long as its 1981 counterpart, it would cost Schmidt $723,140. Pedro Guerrero, the highest-paid Dodger, will lose $7,840 per game. Or, with an ‘81-length strike, $431,172.

Q: Who continues to get paid in a strike?

A: Front office personnel, managers, coaches and trainers.

Q: Where does that leave Cincinnati’s Pete Rose, a player/manager?

A: Answered Rose, “If I do something for the club, I’ll get paid.”

Q: Why was the date of Aug. 6th decided upon to strike?

A: Four years ago, the players struck from early June until early August. That allowed the owners to split the season in half, set up a second-season race for half a divisional title and then expand the playoffs to include both divisional winners.

The players’ union has said that this time there won’t be a second season. With less than 60 games remaining, there wouldn’t be time to start a second season if this strike lasts more than a few days. That would leave the owners in the uncomfortable position of crowning the Aug. 6th leaders as divisional winners in order to get on with the postseason.

On one point, almost all parties agree. Regardless of the duration or severity of this strike, there will be a postseason. There is too much money involved to cancel it.

Q: Do inactive players with guaranteed contracts still get paid in the event of a strike?

A: Yes.

Q: Has talk of a strike affected ticket sales?

A: According to Walter Nash, director of ticket sales for the Dodgers, customers are slightly down from the number usually expected this time of year.

Q: What happens if you are a season-ticket holder or have a ticket to an upcoming game?

A: The Dodgers plan to give credit to season-ticket holders that may be applied to either playoff tickets or season-ticket packages next year. Single-game ticket holders can either exchange their tickets or get a refund. The Angels had a similar policy in 1981 and give no indication they will change that.

Q: Could the games continue with minor league players?

A: There is nothing to legally prevent it. Only those at the major league level belong to the union. But, the owners decided against playing minor leaguers at the major league level the last time there was a strike. It would be difficult to charge major league prices to watch the Albuquerque Dodgers masquerading as the L.A. Dodgers. Also, many minor leaguers would be hesitant to cross a picket line against those they hope to be playing with in the coming years.

Q: Is there strike insurance?

A: Not this time. Four years ago, the owners purchased insurance from Lloyds of London, paying a $2 million premium for a $50 million policy which was all used up by the end of the strike.

Q: When would the strike, baseball’s third in the last six years, officially start?

A: Today’s earliest games are a trio in the East--Baltimore at Toronto, New York at Montreal and Pittsburgh at Philadelphia, all scheduled for 4:35 PDT start. When the first pitch is not thrown in those games, the umpires can yell, Strike III, you’re all out.

Q: Why doesn’t Peter Ueberroth, the commissioner, do something?

A: He’s trying. He has already interjected himself into the talks by proposing to raise the pension contributions to between $23 million and $31 million, by opposing the idea of a salary cap and by advocating changes in the arbitration system.

But these are just proposals. For all his public statements Ueberroth has no more power in these negotiations than his predecessor, Bowie Kuhn, who was highly criticized for allowing the 1981 strike to drag on. Under baseball’s bylaws, the negotiations are carried on by the players and owners. The commissioner is hired by the owners, and cannot separate himself to become a third, strong, independent power.

Q: Can’t anybody do something? How about the President?

A: “Well, “ Ronald Reagan said when he was asked by reporters what he would do in the event of a strike, “I’m not going to go to the ballgame.”

Getting serious, he added, “I don’t think government should intervene in labor-management affairs of any kind. But I do think that all parties really should sit down there with the fans in their minds and their obligation to baseball fans.”

Q: Are you sure there will be a strike?

A: Who knows? RESULTS OF ARBITRATION CASES

Player, Team Player Figure Team Figure Award Wade Boggs, Red Sox $1,000,000 $675,000 $1,000,000 Tom Brunansky, Twins 600,000 425,000 425,000 Carlos Diaz, Dodgers 170,000 120,000 120,000 Leon Durham, Cubs 1,100,000 800,000 800,000 Jerry Koosman, Phillies 865,000 600,000 600,000 Jessie Orosco, Mets 850,000 650,000 650,000 Daver Plamer, Expos 375,000 235,000 375,000 Tim Raines,Expos 1,200,000 1,000,000 1,200,000 Bobby Ramos, Expos 150,000 115,000 115,000 Bert Roberge, White Sox 95,000 60,000 95,000 Dave Schmidt, Rangers 344,000 230,000 344,000 Doug Sisk, Mets 470,000 275,000 275,000 Mike Scoscia, Dodgers 435,000 350,000 435,000

ARBITRATION BREAKDOWNS

No. of Players by Category No. of Years No. of Players Under 2 233 2-3 82 4-5 148 6 or More 262

NOTE--Only players in the second or third year category would be immediately affected if the arbitration years were changed. It would have no effect on 410 players regardless of the settlement.

Salaries by Position Position No./Players Avg. Sal. First base 22 $525,145 Second base 23 379,998 Third base 23 601,595 Shortstop 21 434,425 Outfield 68 468,985 Catcher 21 452,803 Designated Hitter 13 447,334 Starting pitcher 109 397,730 Relief pitcher 101 312,313