NEW YORK (AP) — Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred worries the owners’ salary cap proposal could lead to a work stoppage like the one that caused the cancellation of the 1994 World Series and says the plan is needed because management concluded that the luxury tax system in place since 2003 no longer is working.
Owners last week made their first cap proposal since 1994, when a 7 1/2-month strike caused the cancellation of the World Series for the first time in 90 years. Manfred was a junior lawyer on the owners’ bargaining team in those negotiations.
Players have vowed to fight a cap as long as it takes. Asked whether he is concerned the events of 1994-95 will be repeated, Manfred responded: “Of course I do.”
“We’re open to whatever ideas people have, but we need a realistic framework that addresses the fans’ concerns about competitive balance and you just can’t ignore that financial penalties have not gotten it done for us,” he said Wednesday at a news conference during an owners’ meeting.
Baseball owners and players started the current luxury tax system for the 2003 season and in subsequent agreements have increased tax rates while adding surcharges.
Owners last week made their first cap proposal since 1994, when a 7 1/2-month strike caused the cancellation of the World Series for the first time in 90 years. Manfred was a junior lawyer on the owners’ bargaining team in those negotiations.
Players have vowed to fight a cap as long as it takes. Asked whether he is concerned the events of 1994-95 will be repeated, Manfred responded: “Of course I do.”
“We’re open to whatever ideas people have, but we need a realistic framework that addresses the fans’ concerns about competitive balance and you just can’t ignore that financial penalties have not gotten it done for us,” he said Wednesday at a news conference during an owners’ meeting.
Baseball owners and players started the current luxury tax system for the 2003 season and in subsequent agreements have increased tax rates while adding surcharges.
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