Unfortunately, it is actually important news

[Pride]

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Major League Baseball players reached a new labor agreement with team owners in 11th-hour talks on Friday, averting a strike that had threatened to damage America's pastime for years to come.


Reuters Photo



Donald Fehr, chief of the powerful players' union, confirmed there would be no strike as he emerged from marathon negotiations at baseball's New York headquarters.

"There's no strike," Fehr told a swarm of reporters, declining further comment.

More details were due to be released at a news conference scheduled for 1 p.m. EDT.

Representatives for team owners and players apparently reached a compromise on key issues regarding revenue sharing and a luxury tax, which the owners said were essential to level the playing field between big and small market teams.

The deal means baseball will skirt -- for now -- what would have been its ninth work stoppage since 1972, relieving millions of supporters still jaded by a 1994 strike that canceled the World Series for the first time in 90 years.

Around 100 baseball fans were ejected from a game on Thursday night in Anaheim, California, after they threw objects on the playing field to show their displeasure over a possible strike. The average player salary is now $2.4 million.

"There is still a lot of work to be done by both sides if they're going to repair things with fans," said Arthur Bernstein, sports consultant and the former executive director of the fan advocacy group United Sports Fans of America.

"If they're smart, they'll have fan events, reduced ticket prices, and have the players out there talking to the people. Basically, anything to tell the fans, 'We really didn't mean to be such jerks the whole time."'

Had the talks broken down, the first game affected by a strike would have been Friday afternoon's contest between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs at Chicago's Wrigley Field.

The previous bargaining agreement between the 30 team owners and players expired last year, and the players' union set the Aug. 30 strike date two weeks ago to force the owners to negotiate a new contract.

The players feared that after the regular season and World Series were played, the owners could lock out the players.

The players had accepted the general structure of revenue sharing and a luxury tax on payrolls that exceed a certain level -- a double-pronged approach to close the gap between rich and poor clubs and rein in spiraling salaries.

With revenue of billions of dollars at stake and the average player salary now at $2.4 million, only a legacy of antipathy and distrust between the owners and players had stood in the way of compromise.

[ArcticWildMan]

I'm so sick of baseball and the greed on both sides. I was hoping they would strike so we could all be spared the endless baseball highlights and Baseball Tonight on ESPN :down:

[Michael82]

Damn it! WTF! Why couldn't they strike!?!? :angry:

Looks like the players got what they want AGAIN! :mad:

[Romes]

Not true Mike, luxury tax is in which is basically a salary cap. Revenue sharing is hire which means lower income teams will be at a more equal level to your Yankees. Basically, your precious Yankees won't be able to buy championships anymore. :D

[Michael82]

Is this true, Billszone Cap gurus? :cry:

[lordofgun]

Nah. Steinbrenner doesn't care about luxury taxes. He'll spend whatever it takes to win. Period.

Also, the other owners aren't required to put ANY of the money they receive from luxury tax to their teams. It just lines their pockets and doesn't guarantee they'll invest it into their teams.

[Earthquake Enyart]

Pride, your article is wrong. The Cubs went on strike in 1909.

[Romes]

Originally posted by lordofgun
Nah. Steinbrenner doesn't care about luxury taxes. He'll spend whatever it takes to win. Period.

Also, the other owners aren't required to put ANY of the money they receive from luxury tax to their teams. It just lines their pockets and doesn't guarantee they'll invest it into their teams.

Your first point is probably true.

Your second point is true but at least it gives the other owners the available money to possibly spend on there team.

[lordofgun]

Speaking of not spending money on your team...

Did you hear that Bud Selig's Brewers made the biggest profit margin last year. If he's not going to spend his money, what makes anyone think other owners will?

[Halbert]

Baseball lost me as a fan when they cancelled the WS. I barely even watch the playoffs now.

[lordofgun]

I only watch the playoffs. I can't devote 162 games X 3-4 hours per game every year.

[SoCalBillsFan]

I love baseball. There is something about following a team over the long haul that I like. I like the 162 game schedule. Call me crazy :)

I'm pretty happy with the deal. The revenue sharing portion of the deal is awesome, IMO, and I'm surprised the players let it get so high. THe luxury tax is a good start, But I still think it is too high. 137 million by the end of the deal, that is pretty high. I liked the owners proposals of around 100 million.

Glad baseball is staying around! :up:

[lordofgun]

ME too. I love the playoffs and the end of the regular season when the games mean something.

[Romes]

Hey Log, look at this little piece of a Jayson Stark article about the affects of the deal.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/columns/stark_jayson/1425248.html

But the Yankees are a different story. Between the tax bill and revenue sharing, this deal may even hit the Yankees hard enough to inspire them to sue. And with players like Derek Jeter and Jason Giambi who have long-term contracts, the Yankees will be the team most affected.


Of course, Boss Steinbrenner might regard that as some kind of challenge. But maybe the foremost goal many clubs had in this negotiation was to make sure the Yankees couldn't play by different rules -- by adding and adding to their payroll. And this tax at least addresses that, particularly if the Yankees exceed the tax threshold year after year.


The Yankees were already on the hook for a $30-million revenue-sharing tab. Now add in the tax, and that figures to inflate to more than $50 million. Even Steinbrenner will shudder when that bill comes in the mail.


It won't stop the Yankees from being good. But it will affect what one AL executive called the Yankees' "gluttony factor."

They can't sign everybody or trade for every team's most eligible money-dumpee anymore. And that's good. Good for the game. And good because it means teams might finally stop blaming the Yankees for all their problems

[shelby]

MLB needs a salary cap.

[BillC]

So do politicians

[TigerJ]

I've never been a big time baseball fan. I found I like live baseball a lot more than games on TV when I went to a NY-Penn league game. It was actually fun. I think, and I've heard some knowledgeable people say that the players made more concessions than they've ever made before and that if there were any winners this time it was the owners. I think Steinbrenner will still spend lots of money but the collective bargaining agreement does level the playing field some. That will be a good thing. The other good thing is that this sets a precedent for NHL hockey. Gary Bettman has no imaginationl, but even he can look at another sport and figure out that revenue sharing and a luxury tax will help the NHL survive. Small market teams like the Sabres may have a chance after all.

[SoCalBillsFan]

Good article Cal. I think it hits on some important points. This may hinder the yankees from all the mid-season trading they like to do. Hopefully it will keep talent spread out.

It's gonna be really interesting to see what steinbrener does with his team's salary. I'm sure next year he will be paying a luxury tax, and in a couple years that may become annoying to him. We'll if it affects the way he runs his team. I'm hoping it does.
But I agree baseball needs a salary cap.

[TigerJ]

I think the players' association would have struck before agreeing to a hard salary cap. The luxury tax is in essence a soft cap. Teams can violate it, but if they do it provides more money for small market teams to sign players. I don't know the specifics of the luxury tax, to be really effective I think it has to be 1 for 1, 1 dollar tax for every dollar over the threshhold. Tha means players signed over the threshhold will cost exactly twice what they would otherwise. If that is not enough, they could go to a tiered luxury tax next time. Exceed the threshhold by more than 10 million and it costs $5 in tax for every dollar over the second threshhold.