WINNERS:
1. BASEBALL FANS: This World Series and the next three have been saved, thanks to the four-year agreement. The focus returns to the field and away from the dollar signs.
2. THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: The season is saved, which means the first-place Twins have a shot at making the World Series for the first time since 1991. Contraction was staved off as part of the agreement, which saves baseball in the Twin Cities.
3. DON FEHR AND BUD SELIG: The two stubborn faces of the strike that wiped out the 1994 World Series were able to hammer out a Basic Agreement without canceling a single game.
4. THE RED SOX: Anything that hurts the Yankees by definition helps the Red Sox.
5. THE FOX NETWORK: Not all of the rights money would have been refunded. With the World Series preserved, Fox can cross-promote its other programming for huge audiences.
LOSERS:
1. THE YANKEES: The luxury taxes and revenue-sharing contributions slapped on the Yankees with this agreement will make it much more difficult for them to assemble an All-Star lineup every night.
2. OTHER BIG SPENDERS: Teams such as the Dodgers, Braves, Diamondbacks and Mets must avoid running up payrolls or be subjected to paying luxury taxes.
3. HARD-LINE OWNERS: Men such as Drayton McLane of the Astros, John Moores of the Padres and David Glass of the Royals wanted a salary cap that would fix costs in such a way as to make it far easier to turn a profit. This agreement falls way short of a salary cap.
4. MET FANS: This means they must watch their bumbling nine play out the string in what already has been a long, hot summer.
5. COMPETITIVE BALANCE: The dollars generated from revenue sharing and luxury tax will help small-market clubs reduce debts, but with no stipulations forcing them to spend the handouts on improving talent, there’s no guarantee they’ll become any more competitive.