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American Morning

Interview With Fred Mitchell

Aired August 30, 2002 - 07:06   ET

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

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: If there is strike, the first game that will not be played will be in Chicago. That's where Fred Mitchell covers the baseball beat for the "Chicago Tribune."
Good morning to you -- good to have you with us today.

FRED MITCHELL, "CHICAGO TRIBUNE": Good morning, Bill.

HEMMER: My sense is that they are so close, it's not going to happen. Is that yours as well?

MITCHELL: It is. It will be very regrettable on many counts if they don't settle this. There are so many people involved, not just the players and the owners. There are a lot of peripheral people that -- you know, from the vendors to the parking lot attendants, you know, not to mention all of the fans who have made plans here in Chicago.

The St. Louis Cardinals are scheduled to play this weekend, and routinely, fans from St. Louis make this trek up here to Chicago anyway. So I think a lot of people will be very annoyed, at the very least.

HEMMER: Annoyed would be an understatement. A lot of people ticked off, frankly, after that, too. But I think America has learned that they can live without baseball, and it's my impression, also, that baseball understands that right now. Do you get the same feeling?

MITCHELL: Well, you hope they understand that. You know, a lot has been made about the (UNINTELLIGIBLE), you know, 9/11, that's coming up, and how unfortunate that that would be if baseball players would be on strike during this sad time for America. I think that should weigh in as a huge factor.

HEMMER: Fred, what do you make of this? On the two major issues that have been talked about -- revenue sharing and the luxury tax -- at last check on the revenue sharing, they were about three percentage points apart. For baseball and management, players and management, that seems like absolutely pennies. On the luxury tax, just about $3 million apart between the owners and the players.

What does that indicate to you, knowing the sides have come so close together in the past week?

MITCHELL: That indicates to me that both sides have tremendous egos. And they are probably trying to spin it, so that no one looks like the loser, and everyone comes out feeling good about themselves. HEMMER: We should all see. Thank you, Fred -- Fred Mitchell of the "Chicago Tribune" in the windy city this morning. Thank you, sir.

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