SIDELINES : Settle or Miss Season, Royals’ Owner Tells Player

Kansas City Royals owner Ewing Kauffman said today that owners have given enough in the baseball negotiations and that the players should accept the latest offer.

Kauffman said it is his view that if the players don’t settle soon, the season should be canceled.

“We’re fairly close together, and it would be foolish for us to lose the season over the minor things that are left,” he said at a news conference. “If they don’t settle soon, from my viewpoint we’ve given enough, and it would be my nature to withdraw everything that’s been offered and close the season down.”

Kauffman said the owners have made concessions on free agent mobility and changes in waiver policy, on the minimum salary and benefit contributions and on roster size.

He said that the issue of whether players should be eligible for arbitration after two years instead of three affects only 80 players and that it is an issue that the owners should not give up on.

“There comes a time when you cannot keep giving and giving and giving,” he said.