Players likely to receive an earful from fans

The Journal Sentinel staff

For whatever reasons, history has shown us that baseball fans are a forgiving lot.

This time, however, their patience and understanding have been stretched to the limit.

Milwaukee Brewers third baseman Kevin Seitzer, for one, isn't kidding himself into believing baseball players will be welcomed back with open arms by fans after the longest strike in sports history.

"The saying is `Forgive and forget.' Well, I know they won't forget," said Seitzer. "Nobody will forget this. All we can ask for is forgiveness."

Having called off their 232- day strike after obtaining an injunction restoring former work rules, major-league players virtually forced owners to allow them back. They've already begun trickling back into spring camps, with mandatory workouts slated to begin Friday.

On April 13, teams will begin playing a hurried exhibition schedule, and presumably somebody will come out to watch. The first time somebody strikes out or boots a grounder, the cry "Bring back the scabs!" is sure to emanate from some leather- lunged observer.

"We're the ones who went on strike, so we'll have to hear it," said Brewers reliever Mike Fetters. "We put the fans in this position, so they're entitled to say what they want."

Fans won't forget they were robbed of a World Series for the first time in 90 years. And the sting hasn't gone away from pulling the plug on one of the most exciting seasons in recent memory, with several hitters on pace for record-setting numbers.

There's also the little matter of a striking union whose members were averaging $1.2 million a year in salary. Right or wrong, that job action didn't sit well with many blue-collar workers forced to be satisfied with decent overtime pay and benefits.

The phrase "greedy ballplayers" has become part of the sport's vernacular, heard almost as often as "hit and run" and "suicide squeeze."

That certainly won't stop after shutting down a $2 billion industry.

The way Seitzer sees it, this might be a good time for ballplayers to turn a deaf ear to taunts from the stands. Or, better yet, to take time to sign that extra autograph.

"I just hope players don't take this too personal," said Seitzer. "I think we'll probably get booed quite a bit at the beginning. That's only natural."

Players would like fans to understand that owners played a large part in the eight-month dispute. They say they had no choice but to strike last Aug. 12 to prevent owners from implementing a new economic system, although the protracted battle didn't play out as either side anticipated.

"I hope people understand we're not greedy," said Seitzer, who became a crowd favorite in Milwaukee with his hard-nosed, pedal-to-the-metal style of play.

"The courts hopefully showed that it wasn't the players that were totally to blame. I hope we can change the fans' opinion of us."

"The injunction should prove to the public it was the owners who bargained in bad faith," added Fetters. "We tried to bargain with them, but they wanted everything their way."

Perhaps, but no owner will come to bat this season with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth and his team down by two runs. And no executive will be summoned from the bullpen to snuff out a seventh-inning rally with his club clinging to a one- run lead.

As usual, it will be the players on the firing line. Angry fans, assuming they do return to the ballparks as in the past, have eight months of frustrations to vent.

"I think it'll be 50-50," said Fetters. "The die-hard fans will be happy we're back; some of the others will be mad. That's fair. There's not much we can say this time. We went on strike and took the game away from them."

Of course, the healing process cuts both ways. Ownership also must be attuned to the damage done to the game's image, something acting commissioner Bud Selig noted after announcing the return of major-leaguers.

"This is a great institution and a great game. It will always be an important part of America," Selig said.

Copyright 1995
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