Another Strike and You’re Out

It was clear from the beginning that there would be no real winners in major league baseball’s protracted labor dispute. Thankfully, and for now, we can look forward to the return of late-inning rallies and box-score chatter at the water cooler. Enough of legal documents and unconvincing pronouncements.

The return of the major leaguers under a sensibly revised schedule that allows for a short training camp and a delayed season should be welcomed, but the jury is out on the enthusiasm of fans.

That fan loyalty is even in question is telling. As the owners and players review their extended winter, let them consider the tentative place their enterprise holds.

It became clear that for all its storied history and celebrated status, the business that gave its customers no World Series last year needs fans more than fans need it.

That some owners were willing to gamble recklessly with a fragile franchise became especially clear at the end. Talk of locking out the regular players persisted in the face of a strong finding from the National Labor Relations Board that the owners had not bargained in good faith, a conclusion upheld by the federal judge who issued an injunction. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed over the weekend.

Ordinary fans now will have to be won back, not just by owners but by players. It was difficult to develop much sympathy for young men making astronomical salaries for playing a game.

What is clearer than ever is that this is a business that needs protection from itself.

The game needs an independent commissioner, empowered to make decisions in the best interests of the game. This means acting Commissioner Bud Selig should go back to being just an owner and someone with stature recruited. Baseball also awaits a basic agreement, and owners have plenty to resolve among themselves. And Congress needs to repeal the antitrust exemption, which allows owners to control the game in ways that ordinarily would be considered unfair and against the law.

But for now, enough legalese. Let’s play ball.