Baseball Bosses Have Own Battle On Super Sunday

Bud Selig and Jerry McMorris usually are on the same side of issues - at least in public.

Today, the acting commissioner and the head of the search committee for a new commissioner will be actively opposed to each other.

The pair will be at the Super Bowl, where the Milwaukee Brewers’ owner will be rooting for the Green Bay Packers, and the Colorado Rockies owner will be cheering on the Denver Broncos.

Selig, head of the group that bought the Seattle Pilots in bankruptcy court prior to the 1970 season and moved the team to Milwaukee, is known throughout baseball as someone who wears his heart on his sleeve when the Brewers play.

He has been known to throw objects in press boxes when the Brewers make bone-headed plays.

“I admit my behavior is far from exemplary,” he said Friday. “I’m nervous. Occasionally, I do not do such exemplary things.”

Selig also is on the board of the Packers. He skipped last year’s Super Bowl game but traveled to San Diego on Friday night.

He said he hopes to restrain himself at today’s game.

“There’s nothing like me during a Brewers game,” he said. “My system couldn’t take the pounding I give myself.”

Trade talk

The Chuck Knoblauch sweepstakes appears to have narrowed to three teams: The Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees.

Minnesota, not even sure of where it will play in 1999 (the Metrodome or North Carolina) probably will trade the All-Star second baseman before opening day.

Tax evasion

Avoiding the luxury tax appears to be one of the goals for some teams in their dealings with players in salary arbitration this winter.

One tactic is to agree to multiyear contracts, but announce it as a one-year deal. Then, after opening day, the team announces it has reached agreement on an extension.

When a player signs before opening day, the average annual value of the contract is used in computing the 1998 luxury tax. When a player signs an extension after opening day, the average annual value of his previous contract is used and the extension isn’t counted until computing the 1999 tax.

The Yankees, who had the highest payroll last year at $68,267,435 and who paid $4,431,180 in tax, already have had internal discussions to use the tax-evasion tactic with Andy Pettitte. The technique also may be useful to them if they do agree to a multiyear deal with Bernie Williams.

Crowd pleaser

Rickey Henderson hopes he’ll be a big draw during his fourth term with the Oakland Athletics. It could be worth $600,000 to him.

Henderson’s new contract, which has a base salary of $1.1 million, calls for him to receive a $200,000 bonus if Oakland draws 1.5 million fans, another $200,000 if the A’s attract 1.75 million and yet another $200,000 if they achieve 2 million, a figure they last reached in 1993 (the A’s drew 1.26 million last season).

Henderson, who took a cut from his 1997 income of $3,045,000, also gets a $50,000 bonus if he has 600 plate appearances.

What holiday?

For years, at the insistence of the players’ association, the exchange of salary arbitration figures never took place on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

That changed this year. Because the union had an executive board meeting in Tampa, Fla., last Tuesday, the exchange took place on Monday, when baseball’s central offices were closed in observance of the holiday.

The union staff originally was to have Monday off. When the exchange was moved up a day, Monday became a work day, prompting grumbling from some of the staff.

Musical chairs

If Raul Mondesi, eligible for free agency after the 1999 season, treats teams like he treats agents, he could have an interesting time deciding where to play.

In less than a month, the Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder left agent Jeff Moorad to sign with Tom Reich and Adam Katz, then left Reich and Katz to sign with Moorad.

He originally was a client of Reich and Katz, then signed with Moorad.