Baseball players set to walk out

A strike by major league baseball players loomed as a strong possibility Tuesday as player representatives of all 26 teams met in Dallas to discuss their options. The full membership of the Players Association has already voted by an over-whelming 971-1 margin to approve a strike in view of the current stalemate in negotiations with the owners for a new basic agreement. All indications were that the player representatives would choose this course in their Tuesday meeting, the main question being whether the walkout should occur right now in the final week of spring training, on the April 9 start of the regular season, or at some later date.

The principal issue dividing the players and owners concerns compensation for teams losing free agents.

A strike, if it occurs, would be the second by the Players Association. The first one occurred in 1972 and delayed the start of the season by about two weeks.