MPR's William Wilcoxen reports on a pivotal day for the future of Major League Baseball, as players and fans await word on whether the weekend's games will proceed as usual or will be cancelled by a player's strike. A strike could prematurely end a stellar season for the Minnesota Twins. The threat of a strike has already soured some fans on the national pastime.
WILLIAM WILCOXEN: The Twins' three-game series with the Seattle Mariners this week may have been a preview of an October playoff series. Then again, it may have been the Twins' swan song. The 29,000 fans at the series finale included plenty who fear that baseball will embark on a strike long enough to wipe out the remainder of the season and make the Twins best showing in a decade, all for naught. Some fans, like Mark Svanholm, worry what a lost September might mean for the Twins future.
SPEAKER 1: I just hope it doesn't ruin the chance for a stadium and Twins' baseball the next year. But I'm afraid if the strike lasts the whole season, that's going to be the end of it.
WILLIAM WILCOXEN: Twins' owner Carl Pohlad has long said the team can only be profitable in a new stadium, but it's been hard to find much public support for funding a new ballpark in the Twin Cities. Some Twins boosters have hoped a World Series run this fall might generate that support. Conversely, if the World Series is canceled by a labor dispute for the second time in eight years, fans like Johan Pickert say they will turn their backs on Major League teams and their millionaire ballplayers.
SPEAKER 2: The motives here are very selfish, and the fans are behind them and supporting their expensive salaries and benefits. And if that's the kind of loyalty that they have, if they choose to bicker with each other, then they will lose the support of this fan.
WILLIAM WILCOXEN: After winning two out of three games with the Mariners, the Twins flew to Oakland, where they're scheduled to play the athletics tonight. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire says the team assumes it will play this weekend, and is trying not to dwell on the uncertainty.
A few players refuse to answer questions about a prospective strike. Several say there's nothing to say while they wait for word from negotiators at a bargaining table in New York. Third baseman Corey Koskie, who has a four-day-old infant at home, concedes the uncertainty can't be ignored.
COREY KOSKIE: When you get on the ball field, that's one of the things that be able to separate. You don't really think about that much. When I'm at home, I'll think about it. And the good about the bad is thinking is I'll be able to spend some time with my family. But we're just hoping that they're able to work it out and we're able to play some games over in Oakland and play some games in Seattle and I'll be able to spend some time when we get home.
SPEAKER 3: Welcome to the great Minnesota get together. We at the Major League Baseball road show come up here in the interactive trailer. We're giving away World Series tickets.
WILLIAM WILCOXEN: At the Twins State Fair display Minnesotans conflicted feelings toward their first place team, and the turbulent economics of its sport are in evidence.
SPEAKER 4: Actually, we just were at the game last night and it was a fabulous game. And so then it's like, man, we should really keep it. But then when you're talking about spending your money to build a dome and taxing the local people, it's kind of hard to put up with.
WILLIAM WILCOXEN: Relief pitcher LaTroy Hawkins shook hands at the booth this week. Hawkins was glad that strike questions were relatively few. He says he urges fans to avoid making uninformed judgments about the labor disputes of others.
LATROY HAWKINS: I can't tell the fans anything. All I can say is, don't be ignorant. Try to find out what the gripe is about. It's not about greedy ballplayers. If you know the facts, then you can comment about it. I hate people comment about things that they don't know anything about.
WILLIAM WILCOXEN: The central issues in the negotiations involve an effort by some team owners to restrain salary growth and foster competitive balance through a luxury tax on large player salaries, and by expanding revenue sharing. The Twins' next scheduled home game is one week from tonight. A team executive says the front office staff is busy getting ready for the playoffs and will likely take on additional part time employees to help with the preparations. I'm William Wilcoxen, Minnesota Public Radio.
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