Players Draw the Line Against Replacement Games, Records : Baseball: They say they won’t agree to a settlement that recognizes strikebreakers’ performances.

Striking baseball players would not agree to a settlement in which replacement games are counted in the standings and strikebreakers’ statistics are made part of official records, Eugene Orza, associate general counsel of the union, said Wednesday.

“It’s not smart to draw a line in the sand in collective bargaining, but this is one time when we’re drawing a line in the sand,” Orza said.

“I can’t imagine a circumstance in which the players would return to work if replacement games and records count.”

Orza acknowledged that the attempt to protect Cal Ripken Jr.’s consecutive-games-played streak--the Baltimore Orioles’ shortstop is 121 shy of Lou Gehrig’s record--is a consideration, but not the major one.

“Ripken is the cart, one of many carts, but not the horse,” Orza said. “The players simply will not give sanction to scab games. The clubs can say all they want about the games counting, but they’re not major league games. I mean, it’s a disgrace. They’re only a threat to old-timers’ games.”

A management lawyer responded: “We would never agree to expunge the games and records. If you’re saying the games don’t count, fans would be justified asking for their money back. There’s just no chance of it happening. If the season starts with replacement players, the games will count.”

The season is scheduled to start on April 2. Owners have suggested that it could be delayed until April 10 if there’s a chance for a settlement, but the sides have yet to schedule resumption of talks.

Meanwhile, Fred Feinstein, general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, is expected to announce Friday that he is seeking permission from the organization’s five-member board to pursue a preliminary injunction that would force the owners to reinstate terms of the expired agreement.

Union leader Donald Fehr maintains that he will recommend to the players that they end the strike if the NLRB obtains an injunction, but the owners are almost certain to respond with a lockout and challenge all court proceedings, a process that could take months, if not years.

“Our lawyers are extremely confident,” acting Commissioner Bud Selig said Wednesday.

He added that no decision has been made on a lockout but that he has asked management lawyer Rob Manfred to research whether a lockout requires approval of three-fourths of the clubs or a majority, a potentially significant issue. He also said that all of the ancillary issues raised by the union--whether in Congress or the courts--continue to be a distraction and “fail to solve our problems.”

The NLRB released its complaint Wednesday, charging owners with unfair labor practice for unilaterally eliminating salary arbitration and violating the anti-collusion clause of the old agreement by failing to bid for free agents, mandatory subjects of collective bargaining. The complaint set a May 22 hearing date before an administrative law judge.

It is the NLRB’s third unfair labor violation against the owners in three months, and the Toronto Blue Jays’ Paul Molitor emerged from a meeting with the union staff in Orlando, Fla., to say: “You would hope this will be the wake-up call for those guys.”

More than 50 high-profile players attended the meeting, and former Atlanta Brave third baseman Terry Pendleton said the issue of replacement games and records was a significant topic of discussion, on which the players will remain firm.

“I’m being very selfish for Cal Ripken on this thing,” Pendleton said. “His streak has got to be alive. No doubt about that.”

The Orioles do not intend to field a replacement team, but Ripken has steadfastly said he will not cross the line to keep his streak alive even if they do.

Orza called the replacement concept a ridiculous attempt to lure players across the line and break the union. He said there is no reason the season couldn’t be delayed until there is a settlement.

“It’s unnecessary,” he said. “There were only 108 or so games in 1981 (because of a 50-day strike) and the public survived. They’ve played less than 162 games many times.

“Suppose a guy hits four home runs off a 53-year-old pitcher. Should he be up there with Mike Schmidt and Lou Gehrig on the all-time list? This isn’t major league baseball. It’s a fantasy camp.”