For many years, Major League Baseball played the game of Beltway politics in part with an appeal to the unique charm of the national pastime. Its office on Pennsylvania Avenue took visitors back to the ballpark, with a pitcher's mound in the lobby and a replica of the Green Monster as a backdrop.

"It was sort of cute," said Robert Garrett, a Washington attorney who has worked on copyright issues for baseball.

But that office was closed last year. Now it's a more purely a game of hardball for baseball commissioner Bud Selig -- a game of money and connections.

	Biggest spenders: lobbyist fees ($)
		'97	'98	'99	'00
	MLB	465,981	1,566,096	2,407,228	772,500
	NFL	260,000	360,000	620,000	540,000
	PGA	120,000	80,000	150,395	140,000
	NBA	140,000	110,000	130,000	120,000
	NHL	55,000	50,000	60,000	140,000

Major League Baseball usually spends more on political lobbyists than any other sports league, according to research by ESPN.com and The Center for Responsive Politics. The pattern continues this year, as public disclosure forms show that baseball spent at least $652,000 for lobbyists through June, easily dwarfing the NFL, the next largest spender at $140,000.

Baseball's lobbying fees are expected to grow considerably by year's end. The mid-year figures do not reflect the flurry of activity since Sen. Paul D. Wellstone (D-Minn.) and Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) introduced a bill that would limit baseball's antitrust exemption by allowing lawsuits to block teams from being contracted -- as baseball's owners have said they plan to do with two unidentified teams.

Selig testified at a hearing Thursday before the House Judiciary Committee.

"In its category, baseball's huge," said Steven Weiss, spokesman for The Center for Responsive Politics, a non-partisan, non-profit research group based in Washington that tracks money in politics. "They're tops by far" among sports leagues with lobbyists.

Selig and his team owners will need all the help they can get from these agents of access, whose relationships help clients gain an audience with key politicians. Baseball has been exempt from antitrust laws since 1922 when the Supreme Court ruled that it should not be treated like any other business, a ruling the owners have fought vigorously to preserve over the decades.

Most legislative attacks on that ruling have gone nowhere. But in 1998, with President Clinton getting involved, the exemption was partially lifted to give baseball players the same labor protection as other athletes. That year, baseball spent $1.6 million on lobbyists, three times as much as the MLB Players Association.

In 1999, filings with the U.S. Senate show baseball threw even more money at Beltway lobbyists -- $2.4 million, including fees for its in-house lobbyist in D.C. That's more than twice what all other sports leagues spent combined, according to league data compiled by The Center for Responsive Politics.

In a cost-cutting move, baseball shut down its colorful Washington office and dumped several of members of its team of A-list outside lobbyists last year. Expenditures were cut by more than half, to $772,500.

"Their operating expenses were out of control," said Tom Korologos of Timmons & Co., a lobbyist firm that racked up fees of $320,000 from baseball in '99. "Plus, everything seemed to calm down in terms of (threatening) issues. It all died down and they let a bunch of us go.

"Next thing you know, this thing (the new antitrust bill) hits them in the face."

Baseball's current team is led by Lucy Calautti, wife of Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and former chief of staff to Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.). Working out of the Washington law firm of Baker & Hostetler, Calautti's four-person unit spent the first half of the year working some of the highest corridors of power, including the White House, according to firm's public filings.

	“	In its category, baseball's huge. They're tops by far (among sports leagues with lobbyists). ”
		— Steven Weiss, spokesman for The Center for Responsive Politics

Baseball should be able to kill the antitrust bill, but not as easily as might be expected with a former team owner, George W. Bush, in the Oval Office, said Korologos, an informal advisor to Republican presidents since the 1970s. Korologos said he doubts Bush wants to look like he's taking care of his baseball pals at the expense of fans and communities.

"They're making a mistake if they think Bush will bail them out," he said. "They'd be much better off with a plumber (in the White House)."

Another Washington lobbyist familiar with the legislation, who spoke to ESPN.com on the condition of anonymity, said the bill's viability depends on the actions of baseball. So far, Selig has given his lobbyists a tougher fight by announcing baseball's contraction plans shortly after one of the best World Series ever and before negotiating with the players' association.

"It would seem like tough sledding for this bill but the owners continue to keep these issues alive," he said.

Major League Baseball officials did not return calls for comment.

"Whether or not their lobbyists are effective depends on how good baseball's argument is," said Rep. Marty Sabo (D-Minn.), who leads the Minnesota delegation. "And baseball doesn't have a very good argument in this case."

Another factor potentially working against Selig is that some politicians and influential local business people oppose contraction because they want one of the struggling teams to relocate to the Washington area. Among that group: Fred Malek, a former co-owner of the Rangers with Bush and former President George H.W. Bush's campaign manager in 1992.

Moving a team into the Washington market also would provide Bush with an opportunity to poke Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos, a huge contributor to Democratic candidates. The Orioles draw many fans from the nation's capitol and surrounding cities.

	“	Whether or not their lobbyists are effective depends on how good baseball's argument is. And baseball doesn't have a very good argument in this case. ”
		— Rep. Marty Sabo (D-Minn.)

Baseball appears ready to dig in for bigger fights, if they come along. In August, baseball filed paperwork to set up a Political Action Committee -- a first for a sports league. PACs are used to raise more money for a specific cause, distributing it in a more expert manner to politicians.

"It means baseball is getting serious about playing the D.C. game," Weiss said.

Baseball owners already are among some of the nation's top campaign contributors. They and their teams gave more than $3.9 million in soft money and individual contributions during the 1999-2000 election cycle, 60 percent of which went to Democrats, according to The Center for Responsive Politics. That doesn't include contributions made by the corporate owners of teams, such as Disney (Anaheim Angels), AOL Time Warner (Atlanta Braves) and the Tribune Co. (Chicago Cubs).

The Cincinnati Reds alone contributed $1.2 million. On the low end, the Detroit Tigers gave $2,250.

Team owners often give money for political issues unrelated to baseball that may affect other businesses of theirs. But that money still buys clout in Washington, and an ear from elected officials if they do want to start talking about antitrust in baseball, lobbyists said.

"Baseball still has plenty of friends in this town," Korologos said.

Tom Farrey is a senior writer with ESPN.com. He can be reached at tom.farrey@espn.com.