In D.C. Drama Over Baseball, It's Hard to Tell Who's on First

The public spectacle is a deadlock between Major League Baseball and the D.C. government, but the drama behind the scenes is a tale of three mayors -- the current mayor, a would-be mayor and the city's famous former mayor.

It ended in chaos this week, with plans for a new stadium temporarily derailed and whispers that the people who run professional baseball might pull the plug on the city's dream of big-league play.

Amid the confusion, one thing is clear: The politics of baseball have created a leadership vacuum at city hall.

Mayor Anthony A. Williams has lived up to his reputation as a better policymaker than politician. D.C. Council Chairman Linda W. Cropp has faltered in trying to broker a stadium deal that would buttress her aspirations to succeed Williams. And former mayor Marion Barry has vaulted back into the spotlight, trying to negotiate a secret deal that would dictate the team's new ownership.

None of the three has been able to seize control and bring closure to the city's fitful efforts to land and keep a baseball team -- a standoff that worries baseball supporters as time runs out to seal the deal. Some said the impasse over the proposed ballpark and entertainment district near the Anacostia waterfront, one of the biggest city-subsidized projects in the District's history, reflects a free-for-all political atmosphere as the city heads into an election year with a lame-duck mayor.

Just a week ago, Williams (D) made confident predictions that the D.C. Council would take the final step to ensure baseball's future here by approving a stadium lease agreement Tuesday between the league and the District. Then, on Monday, he abruptly announced that the vote would be postponed until early January, acknowledging that he had been out-flanked by opponents worried about the project's rising costs. Major League Baseball's president threatened to take the city to arbitration if the council did not act by a Dec. 31 deadline.

Since then, to the bewilderment of several council members, the mayor has not put forth a new proposal to sway the stadium critics.

After working for years to bring baseball back to the city and prompt economic development along the neglected Anacostia River, Williams has been just as ineffective in lobbying for the biggest part of his legacy as he has been on less important issues, members said.

Cropp, meanwhile, has wavered between supporting the stadium deal and holding out for a less expensive alternative -- a cautious approach that has hampered her lobbying. Approval of the lease requires seven votes on the 13-member council, and five members support it. But despite her reputation as a savvy council leader, Cropp (D) has been unable to persuade anyone else to vote for the agreement.

The ineffectiveness of Williams and Cropp created an opening for Barry, the District's most famous political rainmaker, and he seized it. Barry, now the Ward 8 council representative, tried to break the stalemate through his trademark combination of bargaining, bluffing and bullying. At one point, he said, he even called baseball Commissioner Bud Selig.

"Marion has got his own agenda going," said Sharon Ambrose (D-Ward 6), a stadium supporter. "It's about control for him. . . . As usual, he's playing both ends against the middle. He's a fabulous politician, and unlike some others, he's willing to play hardball."

A Lame-Duck Mayor

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Williams, awkward at backroom deal-making under the best of circumstances, acknowledged this week that his lame-duck status has reduced his influence.