Attorneys for Major League Baseball are seeking to throw out San Jose's antitrust lawsuit, which was filed to pave the way for the Oakland A's to move to a still-nonexistent downtown ballpark, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
In legal filings made public Wednesday, league lawyers said that San Jose's lawsuit - which says that the city is harmed and damaged by MLB's refusal to make a decision on whether it would allow a San Jose major league franchise - should be thrown out of court.
MORE: San Jose Sues MLB Over A's Move
At issue is an ancient piece of baseball lore - the 1922 Supreme Court decision that says baseball can run as a monopoly.
A's owner Lew Wolff has long wanted to move his team from Oakland - and San Jose has long wanted the A's. There are plans in the works to build a new downtown ballpark in San Jose. The problem is, if San Jose builds it, there's no guarantee that the A's will come.
Major League Baseball is a business and free to do as it pleases. It would need to approve the relocation of the A's to San Jose, which is territory currently claimed by the Giants. The San Jose lawsuit was filed after MLB refused to make a move either way on whether the A's move would be allowed.
"If (San Jose's claims were supported), it would lead to absurd results: every time a franchise contemplated relocation, MLB would be subjected to suits from any city that desires a team and from any city that does not want to lose a team," MLB lawyers argue, according to the newspaper.
San Jose filed suit this summer against MLB, claiming a "blatant conspiracy" to keep the A's from moving to San Jose.
