NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The Major League Baseball players union delayed setting a strike date Monday, bucking expectations and raising hopes that a new contract could be reached without a work stoppage for the first time in more than 30 years.

Players union representatives emerged from a meeting in Chicago to say that they believed an agreement with owners could be reached as soon as Friday. Don Fehr, the union's executive director, said the union would let the negotiations play out this week.

"You establish a date when you believe it is essential to reach an agreement, but bearing in mind that a strike is the last thing the players want," said Fehr. "You get to it only when they feel they must. And we are not at that point yet. Hopefully we won't be. Time will tell."

Fehr said union representatives would hold a conference call Friday to consider at that time whether to set a strike date. Fehr and baseball commissioner Bud Selig talked by phone Monday, with Fehr saying they discussed the desire of both sides to avoid a strike.

"There has been progress made on a number of issues," Fehr. "We do have significant issues to overcome. Hopefully over next several days we will find a way to address remaining issues between us."

The union's fifth and most recent strike started on this date in 1994 and led to the cancellation of the World Series that season, alienating many fans. Despite gains by the game in recent years, average per-game attendance has still not returned to pre-1994 strike levels.

The owners have insisted a new economic system is needed for the game, arguing that most teams are losing money and large revenue teams have too great an advantage over smaller-market franchises. They have pressed the players for greater sharing of revenue between large revenue and small revenue teams, and an internal "luxury tax" on teams with large player payrolls that owners hope would slow the growth of player salaries. Average pay by players has reached $2.4 million a season this year.

Fehr would not rule out the chance that a strike at this point in the season could again cancel the World Series.

"One always prepares for worst case scenarios," he said.

But in recent weeks there has been talk by negotiators on both sides that there is progress being made on the issue of revenue sharing, as well as some other topics such as testing for steroid use by players. But there have not been any reports of progress on the luxury tax issue.

Players union Executive Director Don Fehr said progress at the negotiating table made it unnecessary to set a strike date at this time.

Tom Glavine, a pitcher for the Atlanta Braves and the team's player representative, said the union wanted to give the talks "every chance we can to succeed." He said setting a strike date is not a step the union will take lightly due to the damage to the game done by the 1994 strike.

"We feel like there's a window of opportunity to get something done in the next several days and we're willing to explore that," Glavine said. "It hurts nobody by giving it a couple of extra days."

Glavine and Fehr both said the two sides are much closer than they were before the last strike.

"In 1994 there was virtually no chance we were going to reach an agreement without a work stoppage," said Glavine. "They were talking about a salary cap and we weren't. In this negotiating we've been talking about virtually the same thing. It's sometimes a difference in philosophy on how to reach certain goals."

The delay was something of a surprise, with widespread speculation that there would be a strike date set. Management negotiators had seemed prepared for such a move, cautioning media that a strike date was not indication that there would be a strike.

"We are pleased with the union's decision today," said Major League Baseball spokesman Rich Levin. "We didn't think it was necessary to set a strike date. Now we can get back to bargaining and hopefully reach an agreement in near future."

Players are considering a strike during the season because the interruption of revenue to owners gives them leverage. Union executives have said they are worried that if no agreement is reached before the end of the season management will seek to impose a new contract on players without a negotiated agreement, as they did during the 1994-95 work stoppage.