Arbitrator Finds Big League Collusion : Baseball: Ruling finds that club owners conspired against free agents after the ’87 season.

Baseball owners conspired against free agents for a third consecutive season, an arbitrator ruled today.

The Major League Baseball Players Assn. said it had received a copy of arbitrator George Nicolau’s decision this morning.

Arbitrators previously ruled that owners conspired against free agents after the 1985 and 1986 seasons. Today’s decision covered those players who became free agents after the 1987 season.

Among the 76 free agents in the Collusion III case are Jack Clark, Gary Gaetti, Dave Righetti, Dave Smith, Jack Morris, Mike Witt and Paul Molitor. Some may be able to become free agents again under the precedents established in the collusion cases.

Players already have been awarded about $10.5 million as part of the first collusion case. Owners say collusion costs players a minimum $70 million, but the union says the total is much higher.

In the first two cases, the arbitrators found owners deliberately did not sign free agents in an effort to depress player salaries. The crux of the third case was an information bank maintained by management’s Player Relations Committee.

Teams were able to register their offers to free agents with the PRC that off-season and were able to find out what offers other clubs were making to players.

The union contended the information bank violated the collective bargaining agreement’s prohibition against teams’ acting in concert. Management countered that the information bank was voluntary. Teams discontinued the information bank before the 1988 free agent market began.

“We strongly disagree with his ruling,” PRC Executive Director Chuck O’Connor said in a statement. “It should be understood that the events underlying today’s ruling occurred over two years ago--in the winter of 1987-88. . . .

“The clubs hope that the parties can now promptly put the free agent litigation behind them and continue the work of developing a more productive relationship.”

The union called a news conference for this afternoon to discuss the ruling.

Arbitrator Thomas Roberts found for the players in the first collusion case on Sept. 21, 1987, and Nicolau ruled in the second case on Aug. 31, 1988. In the only monetary decision thus far, Roberts awarded players $10,528,086.71 last Aug. 31 in the first stage of damages for the first case.