Continuing a long history of legal defeats, Major League Baseball was unsuccessful in removing a temporary injunction requiring the Minnesota Twins to play the 2002 season in the Metrodome. The Montreal Expos and Twins are safe for this year.
The Minnesota Supreme Court’s refusal Monday to review the case effectively tables the owners’ attempt to eliminate two of their troubled franchises until after the upcoming season. But the clock still is ticking for the Twins, who have no assurances after their stadium lease expires in the fall.
That lease, which was considered a minor obstacle when owners approved contraction Nov. 6, buys a year for Minnesota to validate the viability of its market. It is unlikely to do that without securing funding for a new stadium.
The Twins have two hopes. The first is that prospective buyer Donald Watkins has the financial muscle to purchase the franchise from Carl Pohlad and to underwrite a stadium. The other is that the Twins ignite local passions by following last year’s surprising 85-77 season with an American League Central title.
“Hopefully this gives the guys a sense of security to go out and play baseball,” infielder Denny Hocking said. “We all wanted to play in Minnesota again. We have a very good possibility of having success this year.”
Given the pitching trio of Brad Radke, Eric Milton and Joe Mays, along with the fundamentally sound nature of the team, rookie manager Ron Gardenhire has a chance to build on the foundation laid by Tom Kelly, who resigned after 2001. The Twins report to Florida for spring camp in two weeks.
Montreal, the other team targeted for elimination, faces a much less optimistic future. Owner Jeffrey Loria is expected to gain approval to purchase the Florida Marlins at a Feb. 12 owners meeting, with MLB simultaneously purchasing the Expos from him. Rather than relocate the team to Washington, D.C., MLB will operate the Expos at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium, where they averaged 7,524 fans per game last season. The Expos then would be subject to elimination or relocation before 2003.
Commissioner Bud Selig declined to return a telephone call Monday night. Twins attorney Roger Magnuson, who has represented the franchise in its losing battle with the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission, issued a statement after the Minnesota Supreme Court announced it would not hear MLB’s appeal.
“We are disappointed . . . and we will be exploring our legal options,” Magnuson said.
The only appeal left is to the U.S. Supreme Court. It is unlikely MLB will exercise that option, especially with so little time left before spring training.
MLB was initially confident it would be able to overturn the ruling of County District Judge Harry Seymour Crump, who on Nov. 16 decreed the Twins could not buy their way out of the last year of their Metrodome lease. Pohlad, who purchased the team in 1984 when it appeared it might move to Tampa, had expressed a desire to sell the team to MLB, which would fold it.
MLB and the Twins appealed Crump’s ruling to the Minnesota Court of Appeals, which Jan. 22 upheld it in a 3-0 vote. MLB turned to the Supreme Court for an expedited appeal but Monday was rejected outright.
“Obviously we are very pleased that the matter in Minnesota appears to have been resolved for 2002, which is good news for the fans,” said Donald Fehr, executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association. “We can now look forward to spring training and the continuation of the collective bargaining process.”
Some in ownership have worried the attention paid contraction has cast a shadow on negotiations to replace baseball’s labor contract. It expired shortly after Arizona beat the New York Yankees in the World Series.
Owners are seeking to expand the amount of local revenues shared from about 20 percent to 50 percent while also imposing a 50 percent tax on all payrolls above $98 million.
Fehr has said the union favors “enhanced” revenue sharing but according to sources initially expressed a willingness only to move to about 22.5 percent. The union is opposed to a tax on payrolls, fearing that–especially when coupled with increased revenue sharing–would slow spending by teams such as the Yankees, New York Mets and Los Angeles, who have stimulated the growth of salaries.
The Senate Judiciary Committee announced Monday that it has scheduled a hearing on baseball’s antitrust exemption for Feb. 13. The witness list wasn’t immediately available.
