Dating back to 1970, Major League Baseball owners and players have ended all of their labor negotiations in one of two ways -- either with a lockout or a strike... until now.\nOn Friday, representatives of the players association and the owners kept the fans as their top priority, reaching a four-year long labor agreement just hours before players were set to go on the ninth strike in the history of the sport.\nBoth sides were willing to make concessions to hammer out the agreement, which has some potential to make baseball a more competitive and better game for the fans to watch. \nAnd while the agreement is a good temporary solution to the issues, the players and owners must be held responsible over the course of the next four years to build an agreement that will assure the league of financial and competitive balance for decades to come.\nOne of the major concessions won by the owners was increased revenue sharing. Baseball's wealthiest teams will now be sharing $258 million per year with the smallest-market teams in the league. Franchises in Kansas City and Pittsburgh will get this new baseball welfare to help payroll their teams.\nAnother way that revenue will be shared is through a luxury tax exacted on teams with a payroll of over $117 million in 2003, with the taxable payroll being raised every year. While the payroll tax is going to rise each year so that eventually the only team likely to be affected is the New York Yankees, it is one way to keep a more competitive balance.\nAs far as this will go, it still might not be enough to bring us a Montreal Expos/Tampa Bay Devil Rays Fall Classic. The way to do such would be by setting a salary cap such as the one that is in place in the National Football League, which has easily become the most exciting professional league to watch. In the past three years, two teams have gone from last place (St. Louis Rams and New England Patriots) to Super Bowl champs in one season. A salary base, which would assure that owners would spend a minimum amount on their payroll, should also be thrown in to assuage the players.\nThe players did make a concession by agreeing to random steroid testing next year. Bur players will not be suspended until their second offense. In a better scenario, players should be suspended on their first offense and thrown out of baseball on their second offense. \nThe players won a victory by the owner's promise to not contract any teams from the current 30 that are in the major leagues before 2006. While contraction would likely hurt the game, the idea of merging two to four teams (a tactic that has been used by the National Hockey League in the past) would not be as bad. \nEssentially, baseball has put a tourniquet on its wounds -- but a trip to the hospital might still be needed.
Alex Hickey for the Editorial Board
