Collusion?

The Major League Players' Association appears to be concerned about possible collusion among baseball general managers in the free-agent market and issued the following statement last night:

"Over the past few days, press reports coming out of the General Managers' meetings relating to the sharing of information between clubs as to their plans regarding players, potentially raise serious questions concerning the fairness and integrity of the free agent market. Such questions are amplified by reports stating that the Commissioner is attempting to influence the market for at least one player.

"Any such activity with respect to free agents is clearly improper," said Don Fehr, Executive Director of the Major League Baseball Players Association. "We expect to look into the situation, and are prepared to take the appropriate action to respond to any collusive behavior, and to make sure that the rights of free agent players under the Basic Agreement are fully protected."