Forget the race for Roger Maris' record and perhaps the expanded playoffs, too. The baseball players are on strike.
Players walked out on one of the most exciting seasons in decades after Thursday night's games, stopping the sport for the eighth time since 1972. They went on strike rather than give up a system that has increased the average salary more than 20-fold since the free-agent era began in 1976."It's just going to be weird not coming to the ballpark," said Ken Griffey Jr. after the Seattle Mariners routed the Oakland Athletics 8-1 in the final game before the walkout.
"Today was a normal day," Griffey said. "Tomorrow it will be strange."
No talks were held Thursday, and none were scheduled Friday. The strike threatens the final 52 days and 669 games of the regular season. And it creates the possibility that the World Series, which was played through two world wars, won't be take place for the first time since 1904.
"All of us are anguishing over the season," said Milwaukee Brewers owner Bud Selig, chairman of the ruling executive council.
As the strike deadline neared, George Steinbrenner and two other owners publicly questioned parts of management's bargaining strategy, and Marge Schott questioned the experience of the owners' chief negotiator. Management is demanding a salary cap and won't give up the right to impose a cap after the season, leading players to feel a strike was their only means to force an agreement.
Donald Fehr, head of the Major League Baseball Players Association, said players were "resigned and resentful" because they believed owners forced the stoppage.
More than half the teams, including the long-suffering Cleveland Indians, were still in the race for this year's expanded playoffs.
President Clinton pleaded with the parties to settle their differences and preserve a season that's already seen a perfect game by Kenny Rogers of Texas and an unassisted triple play by John Valentin of Boston.
Matt Williams, who has 43 homers, and Griffey Jr., who hit a grand slam for his 40th on Thursday night, were still in the chase for the home run record. Tony Gwynn's quest to become the first .400 hitter since 1941 may have ended with his average at .394.
"I think the people really ought to be taken into consideration here, and I hope they will be," Clinton said at the White House. "There are a lot of little kids out there who want to see this season come to a close, and there are a lot of not-so-little kids out there who know this is the most exciting baseball season in 40 years."
The strike could end the season prematurely for the first time since 1918, when President Wilson demanded an abrupt conclusion because of World War I.
"We hope it's not a long strike," Gwynn said.
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