First of all, Bud Selig would never have issued an ultimatum. Are you listening, David Stern?

Baseball’s 16-year labor peace has come about, in part, because Selig insisted the lines of communication remain open.

At some of his sport’s darkest hours, he simply would invite baseball union chief Donald Fehr for a walk around New York.

Away from the tension of the bargaining room, the two men exchanged ideas on drug testing, revenue sharing and other hot-button issues.

What they mainly did was build an uneasy relationship in a sport in which owners and players frequently despised one another and seemed committed to self-destruction.

Likewise, Fehr always understood that a deal would be reached only through negotiation, not the courts. Even in the toughest times, he was committed to bargaining. Did you hear that, Billy Hunter?

via Richard Justice of The Houston Chronicle