MPR’s Tom Scheck provides a debrief on Major League Baseball owners meeting in Chicago, where MLB Commissioner Bud Selig said both he and the owners still plan to eliminate two teams before next season. The Minnesota Twins are widely considered a top prospect for elimination, but Selig acknowledges there may be obstacles along the way.
SPEAKER: Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig says, baseball's owners departed their meeting in Chicago this afternoon and did little on contraction. Selig says, both he and the owners still plan to eliminate two teams before next season. The Twins are widely considered a top prospect for elimination. But Selig acknowledges there may be obstacles along the way. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck is in Chicago. Tom, did Selig say anything about the fate of the Twins?
TOM SCHECK: Very little, [? Lorna. ?] Three weeks ago at the last owners meeting, Selig said, he wouldn't specify which teams he'd like to cut. And today, he kept that stance.
He did say the threat of lawsuits and the injunction in Hennepin County District court were expected. But he said he hopes the League can cut teams before next season starts. At a press conference after the meeting, Selig said point blank, we will contract.
SPEAKER: Congress today scheduled hearings on baseball's antitrust exemption for next week. Did Selig say anything about those hearings?
TOM SCHECK: Well, he said he was going to testify at the House Judiciary Committee hearings on the issue next week and he would open up baseball's books. He said, the owners lost $500 million last year, and that 25 of 30 clubs lost money last year.
He said, you know what? Next week, a lot of people who had doubted baseball's finances will start to realize what kind of stance and what kind of problem baseball has right now in terms of economics.
SPEAKER: What else did the owners discuss?
TOM SCHECK: Well, they discussed Selig specifically. They extended his tenure as commissioner until 2006. Many say the owners made the move to show the Players Union that they still support Selig and they're unified around him. The owners and Union have to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement this winter. And they hope that voting unanimously to support Selig shows the players union that they support him 100%.
Twins owner Carl Pohlad didn't comment after the meeting. But Twins president Jerry Bell said little was said about contraction. He said, he hoped the issue could be resolved soon so the employees who work for the Twins know their future.
And then one other thing, [? Lorna, ?] Selig did meet with the organizers from Keep the Twins at Home, Save the Twins, that organization that was collecting all of the petitions across the state, they did meet behind closed doors, though we didn't know what they said. Paul Ridgeway, the organizer, left after the meeting and said, he was satisfied that Selig heard their complaint and was hoping that the Twins would be around next year.
SPEAKER: All right, thanks, Tom.
TOM SCHECK: Thank you.
SPEAKER: Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck, reporting from the just concluded baseball owners meeting in Chicago. For more on contraction, go to our website at minnesotapublicradio.org.
Digitization made possible by the State of Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, approved by voters in 2008.
Views and opinions expressed in the content do not represent the opinions of APMG. APMG is not responsible for objectionable content and language represented on the site. Please use the "Contact Us" button if you'd like to report a piece of content. Thank you.
Transcriptions provided are machine generated, and while APMG makes the best effort for accuracy, mistakes will happen. Please excuse these errors and use the "Contact Us" button if you'd like to report an error. Thank you.