Baseball Owners Offer Players a New Proposal

On the day baseball was to decide what to do with Opening Day, the players’ union received a new proposal from the owners and said it will study it before deciding what to do next.

Rob Manfred, a lawyer for the Player Relations Committee, delivered the plan just before 3 p.m. EST today. The union said it would hold a news conference later today after it went over the proposal with the players on its negotiating committee. A negotiating session was not definite, the union said.

Management negotiator Chuck O’Connor said Thursday that he thinks the plan he was to give the union today would result in an agreement. Union chief Donald Fehr called O’Connor’s announcement “silly and amateurish.”

That’s where things stood on the 30th day of the spring training lockout. Opening Day was in limbo, as were the talks.

The American and National Leagues said they would make an announcement about the April 2 openers after today’s events. But at midday, baseball spokesman Rich Levin said the leagues might hold off until Saturday or Sunday.

No matter, O’Connor said he expected some games would be canceled even if there was an agreement today.

Several sources close to the negotiations, all of whom spoke on condition they not be identified, said they did not expect the owners to move in today’s proposal on the issue of salary arbitration eligibility, the key to the stalemate.

According to some, owners would propose a $100,000 minimum salary and a $54-million annual pension contribution. In addition, sources said the proposal would offer 25-man rosters this year after expanded rosters at the beginning of the season and definite dates for adding six expansion teams during the 1990s.

The sources cautioned that things were changing rapidly and could change again after a meeting of the six-owner Player Relations Committee in New York today. The proposal could also change after it initially is presented, the sources said.

“It is substantial and beyond what the industry has seen before,” O’Connor said, in describing what he called “a wall-to-wall proposal.”

“But I have to tell you, this is a funny business. What would normally lead to optimism does not give me total confidence that we will get (an agreement).”

Management’s proposal for a $4-million bonus pool was rejected, and the union’s proposal to have half the 2- to-3-year players eligible for arbitration was rejected, too. That is where things stood when talks broke down last week.

“There are some areas we need to finalize,” O’Connor said of the new plan. “There are some areas we are discussing with the union as we speak.”