Baseball Owners Put Deal In Doubt

Major league baseball appears to be steering toward another high-speed, head-on crash.

The labor deal negotiated between the players’ union and a management negotiator is in trouble, and it could be defeated at an owners’ conclave Wednesday in Chicago if hard-line owners succeed in bringing enough swing votes to their side.

A knowledgeable source said Friday that momentum was moving toward Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf and other hard-liners in the absence of support for the tentative agreement from acting baseball commissioner Bud Selig.

“If Bud doesn’t take an active role, it’s going down, and it’s going down big - like 14-14,” the source said. “We’re about to have another explosion here.”

“This deal is going down the tubes,” said another source, “along with the sport.”

Ratification of the agreement requires approval from 21 of the 28 owners.

Selig could not be reached for comment.

Several unidentified owners launched scathing attacks at their negotiator, Randy Levine, through newspapers last week - including one, attributed to a “National League owner” in the Chicago Tribune, that went: “What we should do is put Randy against the wall, blindfold him, and shoot him for treason.”

In August, Donald Fehr, executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, and Levine, who previously negotiated labor contracts for New York City, agreed on a contract that seeks to limit players’ salaries by imposing a “luxury tax” on clubs with the highest payrolls.

If the deal is defeated Wednesday, baseball will likely be plunged back into chaos. Interleague play, which the players’ union said could begin in 1997 - but only if a labor deal is in place - would not go forward. Some owners may push the idea of locking out players. A fight between the two leagues could develop over which one will get both expansion teams. And plans for new stadiums in Seattle, Detroit, San Francisco, Cincinnati and Houston may be imperiled.