Another Reason to Strike Baseball

[moe.ron]

Baseball Cracks Down on Web Sites
Sun Sep 1, 1:26 PM ET
By LARRY McSHANE, Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK (AP) - Back in 1996, 14-year-old Bryan Hoch launched a Web site devoted to his beloved New York Mets. Four years later, New York Yankees fan Jim Frasch did the same for the Bronx Bombers.

This summer, with baseball seemingly consumed by the just-resolved labor dispute, the two superfans were stunned when Major League Baseball tried to bench their sites and those of at least two other fans.

Bob Andelman, creator of a Tampa Bay Devil Rays site, responded to the cease and desist letter he received with a disclaimer:

"As you might guess, this Web site is not endorsed, enlightened or encouraged by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, its owners, management, players, or even Mac, the dancing groundskeeper."
Hoch, on the other hand, became the Patrick Henry of cyberspace fan sites, opting for the death of his site rather than surrender his perceived liberty of content.

It's business, not personal, baseball officials said. They moved against the four Web sites over the alleged use of team logos or trademarks to draw site traffic or turn a profit.

"We encourage fans to speak about baseball and to produce Web sites," said Ethan Orlinsky, senior vice president and general counsel for Major League Baseball Properties. "We're simply asking they do it within the confines of the law."

The recipients of the letters sent in July and August take a different view: It was like Roger Clemens firing fastballs at kids from the Harlem Little League.

Ray Kerby of http://www.Astrosdaily.com said Major League Baseball Properties was upset by a display of vintage Astros logos he had in a history section on the site. He was going to fold his site, but a flood of supportive phone calls changed his mind.

"At a time when major league baseball needs to be reaching out to their fans, they don't even know what their attorneys are doing to undermine that," Kerby said.

Andelman was admonished because his Devil Rays site, http://www.emailtherays.com, did not fulfill its tongue-in-cheek promise to forward fans' e-mails to the team.

Major League Baseball Properties says it's simply protecting itself from exploitation, but some fans think it went too far.

Frasch sells advertising on his site, http://www.bronx-bombers.com, but said it's not even enough to cover costs. And Hoch said he sold all of $16 worth of merchandise at his site — including $12 spent by his girlfriend.

Both miss the point, Orlinsky said.

"The defense of `our site did not turn a profit' does not address the issue of commercialization," he said. "We're not sending letters out willy-nilly."

The NFL takes a less aggressive approach.

"To the extent that it's purely a noncommercial site devoted to commentary about the team, we're supportive and happy that fans are excited about our sport," says Paula Guibault, NFL senior counsel. "It's not an issue for us."

[moe.ron]

Since September 11, 2001, Americans have come together as never before in our generation. We have banded together to overcome tremendous adversity. We have weathered direct attacks on our own soil, wars overseas, corporate scandal, layoffs, unemployment, stock price plunges, droughts, fires and a myriad of economic and physical disasters both great and small. But now, we must come together once again to overcome our greatest challenge yet.

Hundreds of Major League Baseball players in our very own nation are living at, just below, or in most cases far above the
seven-figure salary level. And as if that weren't bad enough they
could be deprived of their life giving pay for several months,
possibly longer, as a result of the upcoming strike situation.

But you can help!

For only $20,835 a month, about $694.50 a day (that's less than the cost of a large screen projection TV) you can help a MLB player remain economically viable during his time of need.

This contribution by no means solves the problem as it barely
covers the annual minimum salary, but it's a start, and every
little bit will help! Although $700 may not seem like a lot of
money to you, to a baseball player it could mean the difference
between spending the strike golfing in Florida or on a
Mediterranean cruise. For you, seven hundred dollars is nothing
more than a month's rent, half a mortgage payment, or a month of medical insurance, but to a baseball player, $700 will partially
replace his daily salary. Your commitment of less than $700 a day
will enable a player to buy that home entertainment center, trade
in the year-old Lexus for a new Ferrari or enjoy a weekend in Rio.

HOW WILL I KNOW I'M HELPING?

Each month, you will receive a complete financial report on the
player you sponsor. Detailed information about his stocks, bonds,
401(k), real estate and other investment holdings will be mailed to your home. Plus, upon signing up for this program, you will receive an unsigned photo of the player lounging during the strike on a beach somewhere in the Caribbean (for a signed photo, please include an additional $150). Put the photo on your refrigerator to remind you of other peoples' suffering.

HOW WILL HE KNOW I'M HELPING?

Your MLB player will be told that he has a SPECIAL FRIEND who just wants to help in a time of need. Although the player won't know your name, he will be able to make collect calls to your home via a special operator in case additional funds are needed for unforeseen expenses.

YES, I WANT TO HELP!

I would like to sponsor a striking MLB player. My preference is
(check below):
[ ] Infielder
[ ] Outfielder
[ ] Starting Pitcher
[ ] Ace Pitcher
[ ] Entire team (Please call our 900 number to ask for the cost of
a specific team - $10 per minute)
[ ] Alex Rodriguez (Higher cost: $60,000 per day)

Please charge the account listed below $694.50 per day for the
duration of the strike. Please send me a picture of the player I
have sponsored, along with an Alex Rodriguez 2001 Income Statement and my very own Donald Fehr MLB Players Union pin to wear proudly on my hat (include $80 for hat).

Your Name: _______________________
Telephone Number: _______________________
Account Number: ______________________
Exp.Date:_______

[ ] MasterCard [ ] Visa [ ] American Express
[ ] Discover

Signature: _______________________
Alternate card (for when the primary card exceeds its credit
limit):
Account Number: ____________________
Exp.Date:_______

[ ] MasterCard [ ] Visa [ ] American Express
[ ] Discover

Signature: _______________________
Mail completed form to MLB Players Union or call
1- 900 - F%*& - THEFANS now to enroll by phone ($30 per minute). Disclaimer: Sponsors are not permitted to contact the player they have sponsored, either in person or by other means including, but not limited to, telephone calls, letters, e-mail, or third parties.

Contributions are not tax-deductible.

[chopper816]

baseball has become a joke. if babe ruth and players from back in the day were alive, theyd raise hell over the players of today. when they played, teachers made more than them. now, theyre getting 250 million dollar contracts, to play a game they wanted to play since childhood! i know a 162 game season is long, but football and hockey are higher risk sports and are more demanding than baseball, and you dont hear them crying and bitching over dumb things. the highest contract in football cant be over 70 million, and hockey has to be way less. they dont threaten to strike over stupid stuff thats a waste of time. i say they should be happy that theyre one of the lucky ones who play pro ball, theres many that want to and would play for free just for the opportunity.

[KSig RC]

Originally posted by chopper816
baseball has become a joke. if babe ruth and players from back in the day were alive, theyd raise hell over the players of today. when they played, teachers made more than them. now, theyre getting 250 million dollar contracts, to play a game they wanted to play since childhood! i know a 162 game season is long, but football and hockey are higher risk sports and are more demanding than baseball, and you dont hear them crying and bitching over dumb things. the highest contract in football cant be over 70 million, and hockey has to be way less. they dont threaten to strike over stupid stuff thats a waste of time. i say they should be happy that theyre one of the lucky ones who play pro ball, theres many that want to and would play for free just for the opportunity.

-Football's situation is the way it is because the owners essentially broke the union during a strike a few years back. So yeah, the NFL has had strikes and lockouts.

-Hockey's CBA runs out this season, and there has been no progress in labor negotiations, mostly b/c players want a larger slice of the pie - many feel a strike/lockout is 'inevitable'.

Baseball is not a perfect system, but negotiations actually went well this year and made steps toward making the playing field level.

BTW - it was more the owners screwing the players than the other way around . . . A-Rod might make $250MM over the next 10 years, but his boss is making even more off of him. This was about the owners limiting salaries to put more in their pockets than anything else.

To me, the bottom line is that sports are like any other occupation - striking or locking out is allowed by law, and so it happens. It's not exactly the same as the Teamsters going on strike over labor conditions, but there can be some parallels if one side is trying to screw over the other - it is simply made bizarre due to the ridiculously high pay scale it uses.

[Optimist Prime]

I'm tired or all pro sports they are pissing me off being babies. I could take their sorry asses out. Bong.

[CC1GC]

I don't know Rob, are you sure hockey's collective bargaining agreement expires after this year? It has been my understanding that it finishes in 2004, hence all signing extensions lead up to that year and not beyond.

As for the owners making money, specifically Tom Hicks and his Texas Rangers....not sure about that, the majority of the teams lose money in baseball and i'm sure his is one of them.