Ueberroth: Owners Must Comply With Ruling

Baseball Commissioner Peter Ueberroth ordered major league clubs to comply “with both the letter and the spirit” of an arbitrator’s ruling that clubs had conspired to limit free agency after the 1985 season.

Ueberroth, in a two-page memorandum issued to the 26 clubs, said he disagreed with the conclusions of arbitrator Thomas Roberts, but that compliance “is the only acceptable course of conduct at this point.”

Ueberroth’s four-paragraph statement came 11 days after Roberts ruled that club owners took uniform positions against signing free agents from other clubs in late 1985.

He did not address the accusations against him made by Roberts that the collusion began after a series of meetings Ueberroth conducted in late 1985 that emphasized fiscal responsibility.

Ueberroth continued to emphasize financial concerns in his latest statement. He also said clubs would continue to share information regarding salary negotiations but advice from the owners’ Player Relations Committee was not to be considered a directive.

Donald Fehr, executive director of the Major League Players Assn., said he was alarmed by the memorandum. “It gives me great cause for suspicion,” Fehr said.