PEACE AT LAST

After four tumultuous years, presidential intervention, the dismissal of a commissioner, cancellation of the 1994 World Series and two strike-shortened seasons, baseball finally reached a peace agreement Tuesday.

Team owners ended their four-year war with the players by ratifying the collective bargaining agreement they had rejected only three weeks ago, voting 26-4 in favor of the five-year plan.

The deal, which will lead to interleague play and revenue sharing for the first time in major league history, is expected to receive final approval next week when the executive board of the Major League Players Assn. meets in Dorado Beach, Puerto Rico. Donald Fehr, union chief, previously has said that the union will accept the deal.

“A long and winding road has come to an end,” acting Commissioner Bud Selig said after the owners’ meeting in Chicago. “Baseball fans can finally look forward to five years of uninterrupted play. We can now work together to bring peace to the game. This very difficult and painful process is now behind us.”

Owners say the four years of strife cost the game $800 million in revenue and almost nobody viewed the agreement as a panacea.

“I was less than thrilled the way it evolved,” said Fred Claire, Dodger executive vice president. “But I’m happy and relieved it got to the point of conclusion. It was the one step that needed to be taken. For us to build and make progress toward growth of the game, it had to start with an agreement.

“I don’t think an agreement is the absolute answer to all of the problems facing baseball, but it is a significant step.”

Said Angel General Manager Bill Bavasi: “It puts a lot of rough years, a lot of bad blood behind us. Hopefully, it will lead to a partnership that will last a long time and produce great things.”

Baseball now will finally start searching for a commissioner, with Selig emerging as the leading candidate. It will launch an aggressive advertising and marketing campaign, and there will be an influx of $500 million worth of corporate sponsorships. And fan support is expected to grow.

“People have been tentative to embrace the game because of a lack of a labor agreement,” Dodger first baseman Eric Karros said. “It gave fans a reason not to come. Now, the game can be the focus again.

“It’s hard to believe the baseball industry is struggling when you’re giving kids $10-million signing bonuses and giving guys $10-million contracts, but people believed it.”

It might well have been the record five-year, $55-million contract that Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf gave free-agent outfielder Albert Belle a week ago that triggered the labor deal. Reinsdorf had been the most vocal opponent of the deal but gave Belle the most lucrative contract in baseball history. Several owners apparently took exception to that.

And Florida Marlin owner Wayne Huizenga, another staunch opponent of the deal, gave free agent Bobby Bonilla a four-year, $23.3-million contract.

Owners who had been against the agreement said that they felt betrayed. They urged Selig to call another meeting. And Selig, who had refused to endorse the agreement on Nov. 6 but also was stunned at Belle’s contract, stood before his fellow owners and spoke emotionally in favor of it.

Selig told the owners that they could do no better than this agreement. Under its terms, only five clubs can be charged a payroll tax in any given year. There will be no luxury tax in the year 2001 or 2002. And players will receive their full 75 days of service time lost during the strike of 1994-95, immediately making 12 players, including pitcher Alex Fernandez of the White Sox and center fielder Moises Alou of the Montreal Expos, automatic free agents.

But it was now time to make a deal.

It passed easily, the only teams voting against the agreement being Reinsdorf’s White Sox, the Kansas City Royals, Cleveland Indians and Oakland Athletics.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that the owners just got fed up with Reinsdorf and turned on him,” agent Alan Meersand said. “It shows what kind of erratic behavior these owners have, voting 18-12 against it and 26-4 for it in just three weeks. I’m just glad they finally came to their senses.

“If everything goes right, it will turn into an NBA or NFL situation, where there’s money for everybody.”

Said agent Tony Attanasio: “I think the Belle contract had a substantial impact. A lot of owners were upset. They looked up and said, ‘Whoa! This guy’s talking from both sides of his mouth.’

“The bottom line is that it finally happened, and this thing will force us to all get along. If we can’t do it during these next five years, then something’s wrong.”

San Diego Padre President Larry Lucchino and New York Met President Fred Wilpon openly criticized Reinsdorf during the meeting, according to one owner. Lucchino apparently told Reinsdorf that he had led teams astray with his own hard-line stance.

“Actually, it’s good for the White Sox because it dooms the small-market teams,” Reinsdorf said. “If anybody was for the deal because of what happened with Belle, I didn’t hear it.”

The contract, which is retroactive to 1996 and runs through 2000, with the players having the option of extending it through 2001, ends one of the most bitter battles in sports history. The fight went to Congress, the courts and even the White House. It resulted in Commissioner Fay Vincent’s ouster and a 232-day strike that began Aug. 12, 1994.

“Much work remains to be done,” Fehr said. “With the conclusion of these negotiations, the dark cloud that has been hanging over the sport for far too long will dissipate.”

The key provisions of the deal are a luxury tax covering the 1997, 1998 and 1999 seasons and revenue sharing that will shift at least $70 million a year from the large-market teams to small-markets teams. The Dodgers will be required to pay $3.4 million this year and the Angels will receive $2.7 million. There can be a maximum of five teams paying a 35% tax on the amount of their 40-man player payrolls over $51 million next season and $55 million in 1998. In 1999, they will pay a 34% tax on the amount over $58.9 million.

“I was surprised it didn’t get approved three weeks ago,” Dodger owner Peter O’Malley said. “It’s a good move and an opportunity for the owners and players to demonstrate they can work together. Hopefully, we learned a lot during the last four years because it’s been a very frustrating time.”

Although players must surrender 2.5% of their salaries in 1997, no one benefited more immediately than outfielder Jim Edmonds of the Angels. He had a clause in his contract that provides that his base salary of $800,000 in 1997 escalate to $2.1 million if he received full service time from the strike.

There soon will be other benefactors. There are 12 players who immediately become free agents. And four players are expected to be provided new-look free agency: pitcher Jimmy Key of the Yankees, second baseman Mark McLemore of the Texas Rangers, and relief pitchers Jesse Orosco of the Baltimore Orioles and Bob Patterson of the Chicago Cubs.

The agreement also means that interleague play will begin June 12. It also figures to grant the expansion Arizona Diamondbacks’ wish of being put in the National League West when they begin play in 1998. The expansion Tampa Bay Devil Rays will be in the American League.

“When you look at all the alternatives, whether you like all the parts or not, it was the right thing to do,” Diamondback owner Jerry Colangelo said.

Said agent Dennis Gilbert, “By making a deal, it showed that both sides stepped up to the plate and became .300 hitters today.”

Times staff writers Ross Newhan and Mike DiGiovanna contributed to this story.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Deal at a Glance

Twenty six teams voted in favor of the agreement and four voted against. The four in dissent: Chicago White Sox, Cleveland, Kansas City and Oakland.

LENGTH OF THE DEAL

The agreement runs through Oct. 31, 2000. Players have option to extend to Oct. 31, 2001.

INTERLEAGUE PLAY

Owners to start interleague play next season, with each team playing 15 or 16 interleague games. The designated hitter will be used in American League ballparks. The interleague play agreement is for 1997 only.

FREE AGENCY

Twelve players became eligible for free agency under the terms of the agreement, including Tim Naehring (3B, Boston), Alex Fernandez (P, Chicago), Moises Alou (OF, Montreal) and Mel Rojas (P, Montreal).

LUXURY TAX

Up to five teams will be taxed on portions of payrolls above $51 million, using average annual value of contracts on the 40-man roster plus $4,998,374 per team in benefits.

REVENUE SHARING

Retroactive to 1996, in which nine teams (including the Dodgers) will pay more than $1 million and 11 teams (including the Angels) will receive more than $1 million.

WHAT’S NEXT

The players’ union is expected to ratify deal next week.