Despite earlier indications that no decision on a strike date would be made until union Executive Director Donald Fehr finished discussing labor issues in person with all teams at the end of the month (see WIT for July 9, 2002), the Major League Baseball Players Association are already considering a September 16 strike date. Setting such a late deadline for negotiations will allow players to collect all but the last of their season paychecks, while still depriving owners of the large revenues generated by games during the run up to the post-season. Mindful of the important role that baseball played in the social healing process following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001,the Players Association also wanted to wait at least until after the one year memorial of those attacks had passed before striking.
See ROSS NEWHAN and JASON REID, Los Angeles Times, July 21, 2002