Remember the great season the astros were having when they striked. I think we would have went possibly to the world series that year if the strike would have not happend. It is pure Greed..... Report: Players Making Contingency Plans for August Strike Possible if No New Deal Made .c The Associated Press NEW YORK (May 15) -- Baseball players are eyeing early August as a possible strike date if a new labor agreement can't be reached, The New York Times reported Wednesday. Because there is no real sign of progress in negotiations, the union has begun to talk about setting a strike date, The Times said. "You never want to have to discuss it, but you have obligations to consider that contingency,'' Gene Orza, the union's No. 2 official, told the newspaper. "It's in the very formative stages. We haven't mentioned a day or date, but we have to start considering strike dates. "But they really haven't been substantive discussions. It's just one of those contingencies you're forced to consider by the process. But our priority is still to get a deal. Nothing would make us happier than to inform our membership that we have a deal.'' Orza did not mention a date, but the Times said people close to the union have discussed a deadline of early August. The timing of a walkout would be reminiscent of 1994 when players went on strike on Aug. 12, leading to the cancelation of the rest of the regular season and the entire postseason -- including the World Series. Owners have pledged not to lock out players or impose changes in work rules through the World Series. Because they fear changes, players could strike before the end of the season to put pressure on the owners. It would be baseball's ninth work stoppage since 1972. Union head Donald Fehr has said a strike is always a last resort, and in 1994 players waited until July 28 to set a strike date. Players stayed out for 232 days, causing the World Series to be canceled for the first time in 90 years.
Actually...I read this story today and thought, "whew!! this could bail us out of a bad season!!" I would be very disappointed if they went on strike...but I'm starting to think it's going to take something nuts like that to get the game to make some sort of financial sense.
Baseball attendance is down 5% from this time last year. Fans are staying away, with the possibility of another strike taking place in the not to distant future. After the last strike, they juiced the ball to bring back the fans, what more could they possibly do to bring back fans after yet another strike? Major League Baseball is in serious trouble with no true commissioner running the show. Attendance still down Associated Press Tuesday, May 7, 2002 New York -- Major league baseball attendance dropped slightly from last year in the fifth week of the season and the average is 5 per cent below 2001. The average attendance for the 30 major league teams was 26,626 through the first 453 dates of the season, down 5 per cent from 28,013 through the comparable period last year. The average was down 3.4 per cent after three weeks and 4.9 per cent after four weeks. Seventeen teams have seen declines, led by the Milwaukee Brewers -- the team owned by commissioner Bud Selig -- who are down 149,670 for 16 home games. The Pittsburgh Pirates were next (down 133,185), followed by Texas (124,630), Cleveland (124,524), Colorado (94,900), Florida (70,802), Cincinnati (62,247), Kansas City (49,849), Toronto (46,044) and Montreal (43,284). The teams with the largest increases are Arizona (98,688), Los Angeles (66,383), Seattle (49,674) and the Chicago Cubs (42,855). Associated Press
Actually it looks like the Expos are the one's that are getting the shaft once again... Their last good season was shortened by the strike, and it looks like another good season will be shortened by a strike...
I gotta disagree with ya on this one Bob. Baseball has a commissioner running the show...and he's running it straight into the ground!
