Fehr Denies a Sept. 16 Strike Date Has Been Set

The Major League Baseball Players Assn., claiming on Monday that potential strike dates have not even been considered despite its pessimistic view of lagging labor talks, denied reports that Sept. 16 has been tentatively targeted to begin the sport’s ninth work stoppage.

Responding to a story in Monday’s editions of The Times, Don Fehr, executive director of the union, informed players in a memorandum a date had not been selected, according to a union source. Moreover, Fehr, continuing his tour of all 30 clubs to update players on the status of negotiations and the union’s strategy, stated the executive board had not determined it would be necessary to set a date.

In addition to The Times, a national sports magazine recently reported on its Web site that Sept. 16 is the “leading strike date under consideration by the players’ association.” Players are strongly considering walking out Sept. 16 because of financial and public-relations issues, sources reaffirmed Monday, though at least one high-ranking union official is said to favor an August date.

Under a Sept. 16 strike plan, players, paid on the 15th and 30th of each month, would miss only their final regular-season paycheck. They would also wipe out big late-season crowds, costing pennant-contending clubs a lot in lost revenue.

And then there’s the Sept. 11 issue. Baseball was credited with helping the United States heal after the terrorist attacks, and players are leery of shutting down the game before that date because of the probable public backlash. A Sept. 16 strike date would also give owners a window of about a week to save the postseason by extending the season if a strike ended quickly.

In March, Commissioner Bud Selig, trying to reassure fans that owners won’t initiate a work stoppage this season, vowed not to lock out players through the World Series. But Selig has made no mention of what might happen after the postseason is completed, leaving the door ajar for owners to unilaterally implement new work rules if negotiations continue to lag, prompting the union to consider playing its main bargaining chip.

However, it is not surprising the union would distance itself from any reported strike date, trying to avoid the perception of militancy with financial issues finally on the table. Negotiations are expected to intensify in the next few weeks as the sides work to reach an agreement to replace the contract that expired Nov. 7, hoping to avoid shutting down the game again.

Owners, claiming teams are in dire financial straits, have proposed significant economic changes, including increased revenue sharing among the clubs and a luxury tax on teams with high payrolls. The high-revenue clubs transferred $167 million to the lower-revenue clubs last year, and the owners are now seeking to transfer about $298 million from the high-revenue teams. The union is at $228 million.

Players are typically distrustful of owners’ cry of poor, and are not in agreement about baseball’s supposed competitive-balance problem. The union is against siphoning resources from high-revenue teams that they might otherwise invest in player salaries, and is vehemently opposed to a luxury tax that would slow the increase in salaries and player movement.