Realignment Is Blocked by Cub Vote : National League: Chicago objects to move to West that would put more of its TV games on later.
A National League proposal to realign in 1993, when the Florida Marlins and Denver Rockies begin play, was blocked by the Chicago Cubs Wednesday.
The plan would have moved the Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals to the West with Denver, while the Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves would have joined Florida in the East.
League owners, meeting in Rosemont, Ill., voted 10-2 in favor of the plan, but NL rules require unanimous approval by the involved teams.
The New York Mets also voted against it, a source said, because they did not want to forfeit strong rivalries with the Cubs and Cardinals. The Cubs opposed it, they have acknowledged, because a move to the West would have resulted in many more late-night starting times on their cable TV network.
NL President Bill White said he was disappointed because “the vast majority of our clubs saw the obvious advantages of geographical realignment.” White must now select a scheduling concept and present it to the players association by July 1.
He is expected to chose one of three options: the AL plan by which teams play 13 games with each division rival and 12 with each team in the other division; a plan by which teams play 20 games against division rivals and six against teams in the other division; and an 18-8 concept.
In another development on the first day of the two-day quarterly owners meetings, the major league ownership committee said it would require more conversation with the Japanese-led group attempting to buy the Seattle Mariners before taking definitive action.
An American League owner told The Times that an attempt is being made to reduce the proposed 60% majority share of Hiroshi Yamauchi, president of the Nintendo Co. of Japan.
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