The Arizona Legislature adjourned this past week without passing legislation that would help fund a new Spring Training facility for the Cubs.  The agreement with the City of Mesa and the Cubs gives the city until July 15, 2010 to put funding in place to pay for the facility.  After July 15, the Cubs are free to negotiate with other potential suitors, including Naples, FL.  Naples already has funding in place and is just chomping at the bit for Mesa and the State of Arizona to fumble the ball.

The only hope left for Mesa to keep the Cubs is for: 1) the city to raise the funds, or 2) the Arizona legislature to meet in special session to pass a funding bill.  Both scenarios are unlikely.

In order for Mesa to raise the funds needed to build a new Spring Training facility priced at more than $80 million, they would have to tax their citizens (and the County would have to do the same) at levels that would be confiscatory.  Area residents would simply not stand for it.  In fact, passing such a tax would likely lead to the economic demise of the entire area.  It simply isn’t in the cards.

The Arizona legislature could be called back into session, but House Majority Leader John McComish doesn’t see that happening.  McComish proposed the bill that would have placed a surcharge on all Spring Training tickets, as well as an additional tax on rental cars, in order to raise the needed funds.  MLB foolishly fought the bill tooth and nail until the proposal finally lost steam.  Now, Arizona is facing the loss of the Cubs and MLB is facing a future in Arizona without the Cubs to help fund it.

The new law will also have an impact on Major League Baseball.  About a quarter of all MLB players are of latin decent.  Some are U.S. citizens, many are not, although they are in the U.S. legally.  On the minor league level, the influx of non-citizens is even more pronounced.  For instance, the Arizona Rookie League will begin soon and will consist of nearly 150 ballplayers from Latin American countries such as Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic.  Many of these players do not speak English, a sign that could very easily raise suspision of a person’s legal status in the mind of a law enforcement officer.

And that’s just one league.  Fifteen MLB teams have developmental facilities in Arizona and they routinely send young Latin-born players to those facilities.  This new law hits MLB and it’s players especially hard.

While MLB has voiced their concerns, the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) has done even more.  MLBPA Executive Director Michael Weiner issued a statement opposing the law and indicating that if it is not repealed or amended, the MLPBA “will consider addditional steps necessary to protect the rights and interests of its members.”  What exactly those “additional steps” might be were not spelled out, but I have some ideas.

One step the MLBPA could take is to encourage it’s Latin players to refuse to play games in Arizona.  The quasi-strike could go one step further and involve all MLB  major and minor league players, regardles of their racial or ethnic background.  Such a step would be very expensive for the players, particularly those in the minor leagues who are assigned to a league or camp in Arizona.

A less expensive manuever would be to encourage players not to sign with the Arizona Diamondbacks or maybe even with teams that train in Arizona.  It would be difficult to manage this from the MLBPA’s perspective, but could be effective if managed correctly.

A much more likely scenario is for the MLBPA to pressure MLB to pull the 2011 All-Star Game out of Arizona.  The D-Backs are supposed to host the Mid-Summer classic, but MLB and the Players Association could make a very strong statement by pulling the game and refusing to host it in Arizona again until the law is repealed or modified.

The NFL did something similar in Arizona when the state refused to recognize Martin Luther King, Jr, Day as an official holiday.  Arizona was the only state at the time that had not recognized the federal holiday.  The NFL pulled a Super Bowl game from the state and did not return until well after Arizona had finally recognized MLK Day.

Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez is the first player to come out publically saying that he will not attend the 2011 All-Star Game in Arizona if the law is still in effect.  Gonzalez, who spent part of his youth in Tijuana, Mexico, said that he would support any decision the MLBPA made concerning the new law and he said that he hoped MLB would move their Spring Training camps out of the state, although he admitted that would be an extremely difficult thing to do.

Losing the All-Star Game would not only be an embarrassment for Arizona, but it would also have a financial impact, albeit a short-lived one.  If pulling the All-Star Game was not enough to get the attention of politicians in Arizona, then more drastic measures would have to be taken.  Neither MLB nor the MLBPA can afford to stand by while a state (any state) enacts measures that target a large number of its members, even if unintentionally.

I am fully aware that illegal immigration is a serious problem in this country.  Even moreso in a border state like Arizona.  However, emotional actions rarely solve emotional issues.  Arizona needs to take a step back and address the issue in a rational way that does not violate the constitution nor entangle Latin ballplayers who are in the country legally. 

Arizona also needs to recognize that baseball is an important part of their economy.  Whether it involves working together to keep the Cubs in Arizona, or dealing with the illegal immigration problem, the state needs to act in a way that nurtures their ties with MLB and improves the business and financial climate for MLB and the many communities and businesses that rely on MLB to remain in Arizona.