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CNN Live Today

Reporter Discusses Baseball Strike

Aired August 12, 2002 - 13:41   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Now to baseball and a possible strike on the horizon. You've sent us your e-mail questions and comments, but before we get to those, we want to bring in Mel Antonen, with "USA TODAY." He joins us live from McLean, Virginia.
Hi -- Mel. Good to see you.

MEL ANTONEN, "USA TODAY": Good afternoon, Carol.

LIN: I keep hearing that there's progress. What are you hearing?

ANTONEN: There's minimal progress. There's progress on issues that don't matter too much. But when it comes to cores issues, like luxury taxes and revenue sharing, the owners and players are a million miles apart.

LIN: What is going to break the impasse, then, do you think?

ANTONEN: I don't know what is going to break the impasse. I think my prediction is that the players are going to set a strike, and they are probably going to end up going through with it. The owners are very solid, very unified. And you know, it is really hard to tell, because usually these things don't get settled until the players do set a strike. That's what history tells us.

LIN: Yes, it has never happened before, has it? In 30 years, it's always had to get to this brinksmanship.

ANTONEN: Yes, it has. And I think it really goes down to the fact that union -- the union and the owners just don't like each other, they just don't trust each other. After 30 years of bickering, there is just a wall between the two. And I don't think anybody ever asked what can we do to help baseball along, what can we do for the sport of the industry? It always seemed like what can we do to stick it to the other side? I think that's the prevailing thought.

LIN: You were talking about a relationship as old as the Bible, aren't you? This is really personal between the two sides. They've never been able -- each time they have gone to the bargaining table, the contract expires -- they have never been able to resolve the tough issues. And this is something that Fay Vincent had warned of years ago.

ANTONEN: Yes, they just don't know how to solve the problem. There's been eight work stoppages since 1972. The players don't trust the owners and some of the things they say. The owners have never given the players any real reason to believe there is an economic crisis in baseball. Every time this has happened, the owners have caved in to the players. So the players think that it's going to happen again.

The question and key to all this labor negotiations, how credible are the owners prized that they are losing money now and how will the union believe them? I just don't know. There is no way to predict. But if we go by what history has taught us, it's going to get a lot of uglier.

LIN: Mel, I want to bring some e-mails in right now. We have been asking our viewers, to see what their opinion is, what they will do if baseball does strike.

We have got the first one here from Stephen G. He says, "No, I would not support baseball any longer if they were to strike."

The next one. from Peter L., "As a lifetime fan, I will not return if they strike."

Josh from Chico, California, says, "Baseball is the American pastime. People who are Americans make nothing next to that and still love this American pastime. Let them play."

And Curtis B. says, "No, I will lost interest completely in my second favorite sport.

There are three national fan associations that have organized fan strikes, one in July, one in August, to send a message to the players that the fans are really serious this time around. 1994 was bad enough. They are not going to put up with this because all they see is greed on the table. Greed on both sides, but in particular, they think the players are being greedy.

ANTONEN: Well, you know, fans strikes have been going on for decades, and they've never worked. They've never had one ounce of impact when it comes to the owners and the players.

And you know, fans think that the players are greedy. But what the players want the fans to understand is something like this: They want them to understand that they are not fighting for more money; they are fighting for the right to make more money. They are fighting for the right to make money. They believe that the owners are putting artificial limits on the free market system. So the players are saying, We want just what everybody else in America wants: We want the right to make as much money as we can. And the players think that's a little bit different than saying, We want to make more money.

LIN: What about this contraction issue? How big a deal do you think it's going to be to eliminate a couple of teams from Major League Baseball.

ANTONEN: Nobody knows. Both sides have been waiting for an arbitrator in New York to make the decision on whether or not baseball owners can go ahead with contraction. If baseball owners are allowed to go through with contraction, it could become a bargaining chip. The owners could say, OK, we will give you this -- we won't contract if you give us this. But nobody knows for sure because we are waiting for an arbitrator to decide. And that might be one reason why negotiations are slow.

LIN: Right, contraction. It's a little funny when you look at it from a historic perspective, because the last time they talked about contraction, I think they were talking about eliminating the Atlanta Braves and, was it Montreal?

ANTONEN: Well, the last time, Minnesota and -- they haven't really talked seriously about contraction up until this year. Two days after the World Series last year it came out that baseball was going to -- baseball announced that it was going to contract, run two teams out of business. And those two teams became the Montreal Expos and the Minnesota Twins. Now the Twins are in first place in American League Central. They are the feel-good story of the 2002 baseball season, because those players grew up together, they are the classic underdogs, and now, they may not get a chance to finish the season.

Really, to answer your question, the contraction issue deals with the Minnesota Twins and the Montreal Expos. And a very sad story in Minnesota if twins aren't allowed to finish this season, because it is such a great underdog story.

LIN: Thanks to our viewers for sending their e-mails in.

Mel Antonen, thanks for your time.

A quick prediction on today, a strike day?

ANTONEN: I will go with history and say that they are going to set a strike date.

LIN: Yes, we are hearing September 16. How does that sound to you?

ANTONEN: Yes, something like that. Usually, what they've done in the past, it's always been two weeks after they've set a strike date. So I'm figuring probably late August.

LIN: There you go. Mel Antonen, "USA TODAY."

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