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CNN Saturday Morning News

Reporters Notebook

Aired August 31, 2002 - 09:33   ET

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

CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: We are going to talk baseball now, and the last-minute agreement that narrowly averted a strike.
When did they reach it, like a minute before the deadline, something like that? Owners and players hammered out the tentative pack yesterday. Baseball commissioner Bud Selig called it historic.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Now, joining us from New York, Josie Karp, CNN Sports correspondent. Josie, how long have you been up?

JOSIE KARP, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well, I actually got to sleep last night, so I've only been up for a couple of hours now.

O'BRIEN: Oh, we are so happy you're with us.

KARP: I'm sorry to disappoint you.

O'BRIEN: We saw you yesterday, and you'd been going for awhile, and we were a little worried you wouldn't be with us.

And Jon Heyman, who is the baseball columnist for "Newsday" in New York, Jon, you've been getting enough rest?

JON HEYMAN, BASEBALL COLUMNIST, "NEWSDAY": I'm OK, thanks a lot. I'll make it.

O'BRIEN: All right, good to see you both. We're glad you're both with us.

Let's get right to the e-mails without much further ado, shall we?

The first one comes from Dale Friesen, who is in Burnaby, one of our frequent e-mailers, perhaps our most frequent e-mailer. "They got it done in extra innings. Do you think that fan opinion played a role? Is this the sign of a new attitude?" -- Josie.

KARP: I think that fan opinion played a role in that both sides were scared about what would happen to the game if there was another work stoppage. I don't think they were in there talking about fans. But I think in the back of their minds, the climate of this country is very different than it was the last time they had the big walkout, and I think they were aware of that, Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right. Jon, what are your thoughts on that? Were the fans sort of in spirit at the bargaining table this time? HEYMAN: I think it played a little role. I think the players knew that they simply could not walk out, they could not have the strike when they're making $2.4 million a man and every fan out there knew that. You just can't reach for a picket sign when you're making that much money.

O'BRIEN: All right.

CALLAWAY: But it doesn't -- (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

O'BRIEN: And we got a phone call?

CALLAWAY: Yes, we do, it's from...

O'BRIEN: Let's go to the phone call.

CALLAWAY: Dean from Florida. Good morning. Do you have a question? Go ahead.

CALLER: Yes, yes, good morning, folks. I'm calling from Tampa Bay, and ironically, it's a small market baseball team. And one of the aspects of the reason why they went to strike was because of the haves and the have-nots.

My question for your panel is, regarding the baseball strike, despite the fact that it was done in the last minute, I sill think that it still will leave a bad taste in fans' mouths, and not to mention, do you see a point where there might actually be some parity far as the earnings and maybe some of the small markets up to where they can compete with such teams such as the New York Yankees?

O'BRIEN: Good question, Dean. Josie, why don't you start?

HEYMAN: Well, on the front of will there be parity, they're going to get closer to it. The life of this agreement is only four years, and I don't think that we are going to see any huge change in the, you know, the small market teams are suddenly going to be in the World Series every year like the Yankees are now.

So I think they took some steps. And we're going to see over the course of the next couple agreements, you know, the next four, eight, 12 years, just how far they go.

Is this a one-time deal and then we're going to go back to all the acrimony that we had before and they are not going to take any more steps to move ahead together? Or is this just a first step in a series of steps?

CALLAWAY: Jon, fans, according to our e-mail this morning, are still pretty angry out there.

HEYMAN: Well, I think they will get over it, because, you know, this is the first time in many, many years that they've actually come to an agreement without any kind of a work stoppage at all. And I think they deserve some credit for that. It's not very easy to negotiate a deal like this. There's just so many agendas that the owners have, pulling the negotiators so many different ways.

It's very difficult, and the players were in a tough spot this time as well. So...

CALLAWAY: But don't they have, like, a year to discuss this? It seems to be coming (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

HEYMAN: They actually...

CALLAWAY: I don't understand. They got a year, and they get down to the very end, and discussing things like the tax. I -- you know, I'm confused. I don't see how...

KARP: I (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

CALLAWAY: I, I don't see how they, how, how they could not get something a little bit more significant settled before it comes down to the last minute of a deadline.

KARP: I think a lot of people feel that way. But if you talk to the people involved in the negotiations, this is the way it happens. You need some sort of a deadline, you need some sort of hammer hanging over your head that drives you to get the deal done finally.

And this one really did come down to the wire, we are looking at a window of about three hours that they had before when they made the deal when the first game was supposed to start.

O'BRIEN: All right, let's get back to the e-mails, and there are a bunch of e-mails on this same vein. This one is reflective of a lot of feelings out there.

"So the `players,' quoted on purpose, get a pay increase of $50,000, making a minimum guaranteed salary of $300,000. Did I hear that right? How nice. They get to see the States, travel in style, typically stay at the best hotels, and, oh, yeah, play a game which most average Americans could only wish for. The kicker, that $50,000 pay increase is more than many Americans make in a year and is twice what some make in a year. And that's just their increase. It really must be nice, and especially so in this economy, huh? Sigh." Mike Carvel in Allen, Texas.

I think the raise is actually $100,000, isn't it, Jon?

HEYMAN: Yes, it's $100,000, and...

O'BRIEN: So it's even worse than Mike thought. I mean, this, this anger that is...

KARP: And that's just the worst, like, the worst-paid guy is going to make that.

O'BRIEN: Yes. I mean, the $300,000 for the absolute sloucher, below the Mendoza line, just barely making the roster, 300K. And...

HEYMAN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)... O'BRIEN: ... you know, I -- the players have got a public image problem here, because of course the owners are making a fortune too, you know.

CALLAWAY: They got to (UNINTELLIGIBLE) can't forget that.

HEYMAN: Right, I'm with this guy all the way. I mean, 200 -- a lot of people haven't made much about this minimum increase from $200,000 to $300,000 a 50 percent increase, which is huge. And it's been kind of sloughed off to the side.

But this was negotiated early on, and it was a big victory for the players. I know a lot of people have portrayed the owners as the victors in this, and I think they did better than they normally do. But to go up from $200,000 to $300,000 is a major, major victory for the players' side.

CALLAWAY: All right, before we take a break, let's take a call from Sue in Virginia. Good morning, Sue. Sue, are you there?

CALLER: Yes, hi. I live in the Washington, D.C. area, and, you know, we've been without baseball for 30 years. And since there is not going to be a contraction, what are the chances of the Expos coming down to Washington either next year or the year after that? We know that Mr. Angelos (ph) is opposed to that, because he, you know, he owns the Baltimore team up the road.

CALLAWAY: Josie, want to jump in there?

KARP: Well, they're certainly a lot better, because they are -- the owners aren't allowed to contract during the life of this agreement. And just talking to one management source, I mean, the Expos are a team that they are looking to relocate, looking to put them somewhere.

But again, obviously, as you point out with Angelos the problem is that market, is Washington going to be able to get a team? Jon, what do you hear, anything?

HEYMAN: Well, they can't stay in Montreal for four years. It's just unviable situation up there. The only options are to go bankrupt, which would be troublesome in itself, because then you'd have to find another team that's going to go bankrupt at the same time, you need an even number of teams.

So I think relocation is the best option. I think Washington is the best place to go. But there is one hangup there, and it's that Peter Angelos has grown very close to the Bud Selig and the other top owners.

So especially in this negotiating session, it's going to be tough to get a team in there. He's going to fight it very hard.

O'BRIEN: It'll be a one-man veto, my prediction, and you won't see that happen. That's my prediction on that one.

Let's take a break. We're going to, you know, have a little -- well, we wouldn't call it a seventh inning stretch.

CALLAWAY: No, just a break.

O'BRIEN: Yes.

CALLAWAY: Back with more of Josie Karp and Jon Heyman taking your questions and calls. Stay with us, everyone.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CALLAWAY: Talking baseball, have been for a while now, haven't we...

O'BRIEN: All right.

CALLAWAY: ... since the last few weekends. Got Josie Karp with us, CNN Sports, and Jon Heyman, who is baseball columnist for "Newsday" in New York. And Miles is searching the e-mail.

O'BRIEN: No, I've got e-mails, I got tons of e-mails.

CALLAWAY: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Let's get to it. Mary O'Shaugnessy in Naples, Florida, has this. "Does a small business owner demand a share of the revenue from the grocery store down the street? I don't think so. The owners can pay whatever they want to have Joe Blow hit a home run once a week. If the fans don't buy tickets, the funding stops, and it's that simple." Mary O'Shaugnessy is obviously -- has a very much a laissez- faire approach to economics. Why doesn't that economic model work so well in baseball, Josie?

KARP: Well, it doesn't work so well because the Yankees need teams to play. Otherwise, nobody will care about the Yankees. And if every game holds no interest and you know the outcome beforehand, fans are not going to want to go and see it.

And that is the great part about sports. You never know what is going to happen. But with baseball, it's kind of become a foregone conclusion every year, what's going to happen, and that's what they're trying to change, and that's why it's different.

Now, I read something about Target is not going to share money with Wal-Mart. If Wal-Mart goes out of business, great for Target. It's not the same with baseball.

O'BRIEN: Yes, what do you think about that, Jon? You want to weigh in on that one? It is a little different animal, but it seems in a -- on the face of it, it seems a bit un-American that, you know, one, in a competitive world, one group is subsidizing essentially a competitor.

HEYMAN: Right. It's a little different than your Wal-Mart situation. It's a little bit of a cooperative effort. The Yankees need the Tampa Bay Devil Rays not to be absolutely horrible. It's already bad enough they play them 19 times and they basically win 17 out of 19 as it stands.

And you just can't have that. So there has to be something to be done for a competitive balance, and I think it's only fair.

CALLAWAY: We are going to speak with Ms. Stoffa (ph) now, who is calling us from Georgia. Good morning, do you have a question?

CALLER: Yes.

CALLAWAY: Go ahead.

CALLAWAY: I just want to know, are the fans paying for this, or is the raise coming from the owners?

CALLAWAY: Josie, you want to weigh in on that first?

KARP: Well, I mean, the fans pay for part of the revenue sharing, because the revenue that they are going to share is generated locally, and some of that comes from things that happen at the ballpark, you know, tickets and stuff like that.

But a lot of it is coming from that local television contract that teams can generate money by selling their games on local television. So there are some aspects where, indirectly, they're going to finance that $100,000 pay raise for the worst-paid guy.

In general, all of the money that is in baseball is coming from fans, because you need people to go to the game, you need them to watch the games. So, yeah, I'm going to say even more so. Yes, you're paying for it.

O'BRIEN: All right, quick...

CALLAWAY: Of course, it's such a bargain right now to buy a ticket and go to the baseball game, right?

O'BRIEN: Yes, let's do one more e-mail in here quickly. Graham Little has this one for us. "I fail to see how this agreement changed anything. There's no minimum that the owners have to maintain, so the small market owners are still going to pocket the extra money, as always. Players are making more money again, and George has to pay more to small market teams. Baseball lost me in '94, and I won't go back."

Jon, explain this finer point. The money goes to the smaller markets, but it doesn't necessarily have to go where the Yankees would prefer it to go.

HEYMAN: Right. The Yankees and the fans would prefer these small market teams to pay for more players, and that's really what they should do. And I would have liked to have seen a mechanism to force these teams to actually go out and spend more money on fans, and we're just going to hope and keep our fingers crossed that they're going to spend the money in the right spot. And if the fan who wrote the e-mail is correct, some of the teams did just pocket the money last time. And that's not the right thing to do at all O'BRIEN: All right. And William Osborne has this. "Given that the old rich men, the owners, and the spoiled rich brats, the players, reached an agreement, the following may be untimely, but it is still appropriate. I still will not go to an MLB game until the cost for a family of four to attend a game goes back to $50 or less." Will that ever happen?

HEYMAN: Well, I mean, we're not going to see costs going down, that is the one thing the -- with the result of this agreement isn't going to bring. The last time they tried to do things when there was a strike to get people back to the game. I think they understand that not having a strike doesn't mean that everything is all rosy and great, and you might see some things going on in the next couple weeks, months to try to extend an olive branch and extend a hand out there to fans.

O'BRIEN: All right. Finally, Doug is a good way to end it, put all of this in perspective. "If baseball went away, what would be the consequence? I don't think it would be a very large impact on any of our lives except the people directly involved in baseball. Grow up, guys. Yes, it is fun watching baseball, but are you really that important? No, you're not."

Jon, you know, fans say this time and again, but they still stay with the game, don't they?

HEYMAN: You know, I think fans love baseball. I know that baseball fans were talking about how they would never go back to games if they struck, and for a long time, but I really don't believe it. I think people love baseball, it's the American sport. And I don't think they're ever going to stay away.

Look, we canceled a season in 1994 or a World Series, anyway, and people still came back in droves. So I think people love the game.

CALLAWAY: All right, Josie, want a final word real quickly there before we head out?

HEYMAN: I agree. It's -- it might not be the most important thing in everyone's life, but it's certainly a part of everyone's life. It's a backdrop. You remember sounds, you remember sights, you remember smells from the ballpark. It's not going away, and it might get better because of this.

CALLAWAY: The tireless Josie Karp, CNN Sports correspondent, thanks for being with us. And Jon Heyman, thank you for your thoughts this morning.

O'BRIEN: Thanks to you both.

CALLAWAY: Yes.

HEYMAN: Thank you.

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