European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - November 5, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse Sports 14 years of baseball Battles covered in Kuhn s hardball by Tim Boivin staff writer in .1 spot Hie i gos ruled Chr Roost Bowie Kutni Oul on a Liml in a the first pitch. Kuhn sri t or Jas baseball commissioner in i m,1 nil Lor i Loughl alongside and against thu Lorini Idahlie Liki s of Chirlie o. Maloy Edward Lennett Williams. Willie Mays Henry Aaron to of i Urner. D orge Steinbrenner Rod Smith Howard Osell us Marvin Miller. In ins Hook. Hardball Kuhn writes of his Poth Riim m or Hoard boy at Griffith stadium in Washington d.c., to National Lagut attorney to t commissioner of major league baseball. He steered l is l ill along a course that was strewn with mines both in players and by owners. 1 he Sirsi half of hardball establishes the for Kuhn s philosophizing in la Iff a puffs. At first a Reader May think Kuhn is we started the Vogue of doctors As league presidents. Though one was in Medicine and the other humanities it was a Nice touch. Actually i would have preferred their skills to be in psychiatry but perhaps that was asking too much Bowie Kuhn Devilling Loo pages to the old refrain if Only they Hail listened to me but alter finishing the Book it seems More that la was trying to relay his Strong conviction that baseball needed to move ahead in the 1970s, without sacrificing the integrity of the game. It was a High wire act of Barnum & Bailey proportions. Kuhn is off target when he argues that the move til the Washington senators should never have been approved that baseball owes the nation s .1 major league team. In reality the City would not support the senators and could nut find any lot ally Tractive ownership to Lake Over from Bob Short. He team was there As some sort of political payoff for baseball s antitrust Protection. Nothing else but Kuhn got his Start in Washington and was a lifelong not to mention Long suffering fan of the senators at i i he became a scoreboard boy for the senators. You get the feeling from hardball that he feels As though he has been losing Ever since. Nothing could be further from the truth. When Kuhn begins to delve into the 1981 strike and split season the free Agency Issue. The new Breed of businessmen owners taking Over from sportsmen owners and the Battles to Boot him Oul a Reader lieu lev Leali is whal Kuhn was up against As . It is a tribute to his fortitude that he Able to Slu k it out so Long. His Well Public i i d Battles against Miller Are rehashed in Kuhn still cannot understand How so Muc h Power i Ould be Given to someone who was not in Kuhn s opinion even a fan of the game. Hardball is Niti All serious business. Discussing the i ibo election of or. Bobby Brown As american league president and or. A. Barthell Gia Malfi As National league president Kuhn writes we started the Vogue of doctors As league presidents. Though one was in Medicine and the other humanities it was a Nice touch. Actually i would have preferred their skills to be in Psi Hilary but perhaps that was asking Loo much psychiatrists May have helped him understand owners like Eddie Chiles of the Texas rangers. During the 191 i strike Kuhn writes. Chiles ilium lied .1 tirade against Kuhn for not solving the strike forgetting that Miller was doing As much or More according to Kuhn to keep the players out. It s up to you to do something but As far As i can see you re not doing a damned thing. I won t tolerate that you and Lee act Hail work for me i pay your salaries you re just Liko any other employees i be got i Tell you what to do and you re supposed to do it ranted Chiles according to Kuhn. Therein lies the owner s dilemma some thought Kuhn should kowtow to them. He would t. Kuhn describes Ted Turner arguing against a suspension for tampering twice with an outfielder from another team. Turner likened his cause to that of the indians against the White Man in the late 1800s. It is just one of Many Golden nuggets of peculiarities that Kuhn pulls out of his experiences to give hardball readers an idea of whal went on in the inner Sanctum of the executive office give us a Way Oul of this thing if you can As the Guy who is supposed to be the big chief of baseball. The Little indians i am like the Little indians out in the West. You hear about the big chief Back in Washington the great while father who says you be got to move off your reservation we kept moving the indians Back and Back and Back until they had to fight. A few of them had to fight. I do not want to never mind that Turner and the braves had tampered with Gary Matthews while he was under contract to the giants not just once but twice in Clear violation of league rules. Kuhn describes Turner s performance As spontaneous emotional missing was any explanation of How i was to ignore successive lamp rings by the same club with the same player he remembers especially when i had warned after the first tampering that the braves were running the risk of suspension if there was a repeat violation. Baseball s rules meant nothing if clubs could do hat with impunity. I confirmed the suspension. Ted baseball rules and traditions meant some thing to Kuhn they were almost a holy grail. He sought Only what was Good for the game he says not the team owners and that did not sit Well with some. Turner was not the Only one to sue. Foley the Bowie Kuhn the education of baseball commissioner Oakland a s flamboyant owner had .1 Long running feud with Kuhn that also went to court. Kuhn spends ,1 chapter detailing his difficulties with Finley s attempted bailout in Oakland in the Wake of the Andy Messersmith free Agency Ision. Kuhn claims to have tried in understand those he believed were trying to undercut him. But writers and broadcasters even his Good Friend Cosell Are not spared his Wrath in was the press fair to Bowie Kuhn i have been asked that question Many limes during my baseball tenure and since he writes. I think the answer on balance is no. I say that a filth accomplished. 20 str Aptt mjg Juinor non bar 5, 1997
