Selig, Fehr Exchange Hate Mail

Baseball’s labor dispute has come down to dueling letters.

On Tuesday, in a letter to acting Commissioner Bud Selig that he released publicly, union leader Donald Fehr accused Selig of lying to members of Congress by saying the union is refusing to resume negotiations.

Selig, in a response made public Wednesday, claimed Fehr was relying on “second-hand information,” and said that what he told congressmen was that the union had not bargained seriously.

Responding to Selig’s response, Fehr said, “If Bud would actually come to negotiations, he might know what was actually going on. He doesn’t.”

In a separate issue, management lawyer Chuck O’Connor, in a two-page memo sent to clubs, accused the union of threatening possible replacement players with the loss of licensing money, pension benefits and collusion money. Fehr denied the allegation.