Washington ? Hall of Fame pitcher Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., believes a baseball strike will kill the game.

Appearing on “Fox News Sunday,” Bunning called on the owners and players’ association to reach an agreement to avoid the sport’s ninth work stoppage since 1972. On Friday, the union set a strike date for Aug. 30.

“The interest of the fans and baseball’s interest is at stake,” Bunning said. “If these owners and these players do not come to some kind of an agreement, and they go out on strike and kill the World Series and the playoffs, they will lose the major leagues as you and I both know it.

“If you go on strike and you kill the playoffs and World Series, you also are going to kill some franchises. Now, everybody says it’s not going to happen, it won’t happen, the fans will come back. I’m telling you, the fans are fed up and they will not come back.”