Sports: Judge allows request for teams' financial records

TALLAHASSEE -- The Rays, Marlins and baseball commissioner Bud Selig struck out Tuesday in an attempt to avoid turning over internal documents to Attorney General Bob Butterworth as part of an investigation of which teams might be eliminated.

Butterworth issued subpoenas to both teams last month after owners voted to drop two franchises before next season. The owners have not said which teams, but they are believed to be the Twins and Expos. However, players and owners are said to be near an agreement to delay a decision until the 2003 season.

U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle rejected the request to halt Butterworth's pursuit of the records. The judge also scheduled arguments for Dec. 18 on broader legal questions, such as whether baseball is exempt from federal and state antitrust laws.

Hinkle's decision means the teams are ordered to turn over the material by Thursday. But baseball lawyers said they won't do so, and Butterworth may petition a circuit judge to enforce the subpoenas.

"We intend to proceed with the hearing next Tuesday and will not be turning over any documents before then," said Robert DuPuy, baseball's chief legal officer.

Mary Braza, a Milwaukee lawyer representing Selig, argued that a 1922 U.S. Supreme Court decision, and several more recent cases, exempt baseball from federal antitrust laws.

"We should have the right to be left alone, to conduct our business without the threat of investigations" Braza told the judge.

Assistant Attorney General John Newton disputed baseball's claim that releasing the records would irreparably harm the industry.

"Surely not all of it is that burdensome," the state lawyer said, noting that some of the same material was issued to Congress last week.

In court papers, Major League Baseball accuses Butterworth of "taking MLB and its member clubs hostage to deter a perceived effort to contract or relocate a Florida club."

The attorney general said he was protecting fans because the Rays and Marlins have struggled on the field and at the gate in recent years, and both have been mentioned as possible targets for elimination.

Pete Antonacci, a former deputy attorney general under Butterworth, was among the private lawyers representing the Rays and Marlins against his old boss. He predicted a "flood of litigation" from other states if Butterworth's investigation goes on, and he cited the minutes of a Miami-Dade Commission meeting as evidence Butterworth is recruiting county governments to join a possible lawsuit against Major League Baseball.

Devil Rays general counsel John Higgins, who was not at the hearing, referred questions to Selig's New York office.

-- Staff writer Marc Topkin contributed to this report.

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