NEW YORK -- Major League Baseball's Executive Council and the Chicago Cubs Thursday agreed to end litigation stemming from National League realignment ordered by former Baseball Commissioner Fay Vincent.
The club filed suit after Vincent's order on July 6 that the Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals move to the Western Division next season and the Atlanta Braves and the Cincinnati Reds move to the East.
As part of the settlement, Federal District Court Judge Suzanne Conlon has agreed to vacate her order of July 23 in which she enjoined the commissioner's office from implementing the realignment plan. In turn, the Cubs agreed to drop their suit challenging the realignment order.
The settlement returns all parties to the status quo that existed before Vincent's decision. There was no agreement in the settlement to limit the authority of future baseball commissionersor the Executive Council to take action in the future.
Vincent's controversial use of power to order the move to begin with was perceived as a factor in the owners' request for his resignation.
We are pleased that this matter has been resolved,' said Chairman of the Cubs Stanton R. Cook. 'We look forward to worjing with all the other clubs to explore the issues of league alignment for the future.
In a related development, Major League Baseball announced the formation of a new committee, the Schedule Format Committee, to examine all aspects of divisional alignment, scheduling and possible new formats.
The committee will make its recommendations to the Executive Council. It will be composed of Cook, Boston Red Sox chairman John Harrington, Eddie Einhorn of the Chicago White Sox, Bill Giles of the Philadelphia Phillies, Richard Jacobs of the Cleveland Indians, Stan Kasten of the Atlanta Braves, American League President Bobby Brown and National League President Bill White.
'This clearly was a prudent and reasonable course of action in light of the fact that baseball recently empowered a committee to examine the entire issue of divisional alignment,' said Bud Selig, the chairman of the Executive Council. 'Furthermore, because the deadlines for establishing the 1993 schedule have already passed, it is not possible to realign for the coming season.
'These factors have given baseball a welcome opportunity to examine this difficult question without undue haste and in the spirit of cooperation, rather than forcing the issue in the courts. By agreeing to end all court action, both parties can also avoid the considerable expense of protracted litagation.
'I consider this an extremely positive development for baseball. We can move forward to resolve the realignment issue through consensus rather than confrontation, which is the approach that I would like to take to each and every problem confronting the game today.'
