Doesn’t Anyone Care About the Fans? : They’re the truly aggrieved party in this unnecessary and regrettable baseball feud

Like one of those loose ceiling tiles dropping from the roof of the Seattle Kingdome in recent weeks, the possibility of yet another players’ strike in major league baseball has hung ominously over the national pastime all summer long.

Some contests scheduled for Seattle have moved elsewhere while the roof gets fixed, but now the game itself has a far more serious patching-up job to do. With the setting of Aug. 12 as a strike date, who knows how long fans will be without games to cheer.

The only thing to be sure of is that those fans won’t have much to say in the outcome. It is worth pleading with the parties to go to arbitration, but the sad fact is that a strike seems frustratingly unavoidable for these intransigent parties. It is utterly annoying for the people who support it all by buying the tickets. They are the truly aggrieved party in the latest chapter of this long-running feud between stubborn adversaries.

This time the issue is the owners’ bid to institute a salary cap to close the gap between big and small-market teams. The owners are right that baseball needs to get its economics in line with reality. Nowadays even mediocre reserves are paid overblown salaries, and cities like Pittsburgh lose their superstars and their hopes to better-bankrolled franchises in San Francisco and New York.

But the players have history on their side, especially in the patronizing behavior of owners who in previous years drove labor relations to a state of bitter mistrust, even after being forced to loosen their grip through free-agency. The owners can’t even decide now on a commissioner who might help keep them in line, or even urge both sides to act in the best interest of the game.

Does anybody care about the fans? The players often remember at All Star time that it is ultimately the fans’ game, and the owners greeted the announcement that a strike was coming with a gratuitous statement about their concern for the fans’ interests. But who really speaks for the kids who want a hot dog and the thrill of a home run, and for the grown-ups who want the games to help them forget about the business side of life for a few hours? Not these posturing owners and players.

The fans in fact are outside the loop except to supply their hard-earned cash for the revenue streams of the game--its flow of ticket money, concessions and big TV bucks. And now these supporters will have their beloved sport cut short just as interest in the pennant races mounts.

What a cruel reward for fan loyalty. The fans are getting a negative message from the sport they have stood by through thick and thin. They can love this game, but shouldn’t put anything on the calendar after Aug. 12 that includes baseball in their plans.