Union Chief Says Astros Can’t Leave : Baseball: The team’s owner rented the stadium to the GOP for a month in ’92. But Fehr doubts the Players Assn. will allow a monthlong road trip.

Donald Fehr, the head of the Major League Baseball Players Assn., said today that the union was not likely to allow the Houston Astros to leave the Astrodome for a month during the 1992 season.

Astros Chairman John McMullen said earlier this week that he had rented the Astrodome for the Republican Convention from July 27-Aug. 23.

McMullen said the team either would take a monthlong road trip or play home games at another site, possibly the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.

“The Basic Agreement does not permit a 30-day road trip,” Fehr said, referring to the collective bargaining agreement between players and the 26 clubs. “That’s a change in working conditions. I can’t imagine how anybody thought that could be done without prior consultation and agreement with the players and the other clubs.”

Fehr said the union would not allow the Astros to play home games in another city.

“A club is not free to move its home base,” Fehr said.

Fehr said he did not know what the solution would be, and said he would wait for the National League to contact the union.

Asked whether the association could be persuaded to allow either an extended road trip or games in other cities, Fehr said:

“It’s very difficult for me to see the Astros being away from home for a month.”