Ueberroth Cites Concern on Minorities : But Aaron Says Commissioner’s Statements Are Nothing New

Baseball Commissioner Peter Ueberroth, delivering his final state-of-the-game address at the annual winter meetings, Monday cited growth and improvement in virtually all areas and said his only disappointment stemmed from the absence of minority hirings for the positions of general manager, field manager and media relations.

Not everyone applauded Ueberroth’s remarks.

Henry Aaron, the Atlanta Braves’ director of player development, said later that Ueberroth’s remarks regarding minority hiring “were the same old bull, just dressed up a little.”

Aaron questioned Ueberroth’s contention that minority employment in baseball has increased from 2% to 10% in 2 years, saying that any increase was more attributable to the hiring of white women than blacks or Latin Americans.

“Why haven’t we seen more black general managers and managers?” Aaron asked. “Most of the jobs he’s talking about are in the ticket department, and that’s about it.”

In his speech, Ueberroth said the progress in minority hiring was just a start and remarked about the failure of clubs to hire minorities for the key personnel or field positions.

“I’m disappointed that there has been little or no progress in those positions, but I’m not going to stand here and let people denigrate our overall progress,” he said. “There has been significant progress, and it is not all clerical. There are times when the critics are preoccupied with their own interests.”

Ueberroth went on to salute the clubs for drawing a record 52,998,904 in attendance despite bad weather and only one real race--in the American League’s Eastern Division--and said it was a tribute to improvements in stadium management, a holding of the line on ticket prices and the basic popularity of the game.

He said the industry’s drug record is better than “in any other slice of society” and credited that to education and minor league testing.

“I never said the situation would be perfect, but the era of scandals is over,” he said.

He added that virtually every team is breaking even or showing a profit, and that disbursements to the clubs from corporations and licensing have risen from nearly zero in 1984, his first year as commissioner, to more than $13 million in 1988.

He added that an agreement on a new television package may be reached before the end of the year and that it will “shape the way people watch baseball” because of its involvement with the cable systems.

Ueberroth will step down as commissioner March 31, but the transition is already in progress. Bart Giamatti, incoming commissioner, previously announced the appointment of Faye Vincent as deputy commissioner, a new position.

The recommendation of a successor to Giamatti as National League president had been expected at a league meeting today, but Dodger owner Peter O’Malley, head of the search committee, said Monday that the committee is still interviewing candidates and is not ready to make a recommendation.