I read an interesting article today from Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports re: the bonus slotting issue that is being debated for the next CBA.
Here’s what seems to be the most important point of argument:
Somewhere in the middle sit the players, the MLBPA’s truest voices and, in all likelihood, the ultimate arbiters of the draft slotting debate. Former union chief Don Fehr called this a “wedge issue” for good reason. While the Washington Nationals gave Stephen Strasburg(notes) $15.1 million and Bryce Harper(notes) $9.9 million as the No. 1 overall picks, veterans went unsigned or fetched less than anticipated. It sent a bad message: Big money, previously the domain of union members on 40-man rosters, instead was going to unproven kids.
Then:
At the same time, the union is certain its players will overlook the big dollar values at the top for the empirical fear: Any sort of a cap on salaries, even for amateur players, opens the Pandora’s box for MLB to suggest one in other facets of the game.
There’s also the signability issue, which is something teams like Tampa Bay and Kansas City and Pittsburgh, who don’t have a large big-league budget but keep hoarding money to get the best prospects in the draft, have to deal with (sorry for the Yellonesque sentence). The signability thing is also suggested to be one of the reasons the Cubs took Hayden Simpson in the first round when they could have had a real first-rounder.
The increase in bonuses has scared teams away from the best available player and allowed superior talent to slip because of signability concerns, a problem for a draft supposedly designed to distribute talent evenly. It’s also something agents do not believe slotting would solve.
I don’t know the Cubs’ financials but it would seem stupid not to have a bunch of money to throw at the draft this year, especially if it is so deep. As fearless leader mb21 has laid out, the Cubs are projected to take Bubba Starling with their #9 pick this June, and will probably have to give him a heap of bonus money (a la Samardzija/Szczur) to keep him from playing college football. The Cubs also have a bunch of money coming off the books as they don’t have to pay Fail Whale or Grabow anymore, they probably won’t re-sign Fukudome, half of Carlos Pena’s contract is done, and they’ll likely buy out Aramis Ramirez if he is in fact D-O-N-E. That really depends on whether they throw an armored truck full of cash at Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder, but they’ve gotta have some money left to make a top pick think it’s worth their while to become a Cub.
The article was mainly about the fight between MLB and the players’ union and sports agents over the limiting of bonuses, but the above are just my thoughts relating to the Cubs after reading said article. It sounds like they won’t put limits on bonuses and won’t do any hard slots as that entails a slippery slope that would lead to a salary cap of sorts, and nobody in baseball seems to want that. If there are no limits, then the Cubs as an alleged large-market team has to be willing to spend.
Comments
Weird, I thought the blockquotes thing would keep them in a nice little grey box. Now it looks icky. Sorry.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
They are in grey boxes. What’s the problem?
Also, thanks for creating this FanPost. I probably wouldn;t have read that Passan article and you Cubtextualized it for me.
Suburban kidQuote Reply
I didn’t expect the lines to show up, that’s all.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Unrelated, but interesting nonetheless:
http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/05/14/leonys-martin-debuts-at-double-a-after-signing-with-rangers-for-15-5-million/
Spending money on Cuban talent with potential? Wise.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
[quote name=Suburban Kid]They are in grey boxes. What’s the problem?
Also, thanks for creating this FanPost. I probably wouldn;t have read that Passan article and you Cubtextualized it for me.[/quote]Agreed. No way would I have read it so thanks a lot, RC.
mb21Quote Reply
I’m glad I was able to Cliffs Notes it for y’all (dying laughing)
Rice CubeQuote Reply
I’ll take a look at the blockquote in the next couple of days too, RC.
mb21Quote Reply
If the draft is meant to foster parity (which it is), then MLB should adopt something similar to what the NFL has used recently.
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
I don’t want there to be a draft. Every player should be able to pick which team he wants to work for. These guys are employees and have the same rights to choose which company to work for that any of us have.
mb21Quote Reply
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/05/17/urlacher-says-bears-not-packers-are-best-team-in-nfc/
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
[quote name=mb21]I don’t want there to be a draft. Every player should be able to pick which team he wants to work for. These guys are employees and have the same rights to choose which company to work for that any of us have.[/quote]
But won’t that mean that every player would want to be a Yankee since they give out the most lucrative contracts? You are describing a true free agency system for all levels then.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
[quote name=mb21]I don’t want there to be a draft. Every player should be able to pick which team he wants to work for. These guys are employees and have the same rights to choose which company to work for that any of us have.[/quote]
Boring.
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
[quote name=Jame Gumb]If the draft is meant to foster parity (which it is), then MLB should adopt something similar to what the NFL has used recently.[/quote]
One of the objections seems to be that if they limited bonuses, the best players wouldn’t sign and it’d be a wasted pick. Another concern is that if they did that to draftees, it would eventually trickle into a salary cap. I don’t know why they couldn’t separate the draft bonuses from free agent salaries though.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Off-topic somewhat, I went to a seminar on Judaism and baseball a couple of weeks ago and saw a history professor from CU-Boulder who teaches a “Business and America through baseball” class (one of the most popular classes on campus) and he believed Marvin Miller (MLBPA president from the Curt Flood case) was the single most important sports figure of the 20th century and is responsible for making the professional sports industry the cash machine it is today.
ABQuote Reply
(dying laughing)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkuhqsnZF7Y
GBTSQuote Reply
[quote name=Rice Cube]But won’t that mean that every player would want to be a Yankee since they give out the most lucrative contracts? You are describing a true free agency system for all levels then.[/quote]The Yankees have a finite amount of money. How much are they going to sacrifice at the big league level to invest in their minor league level? The answer to that is probably no more than they already do. I think not having a draft can help out the small market teams the most. They have the most incentive to invest heavily in the minor leagues.
I’m just not comfortable with choosing where a person can and cannot work. Imagine being a teacher and every graduate is drafted by schools around the country. You get drafted by some school in bumfucknorthdakota, but you are from southern California. Your family lives there. Your wife has a job there. Her family lives there. Your only option is to take the job in North Dakota or find a new career.
Maybe that’s a little unfair to the school in North Dakota who thought they had just picked up a really good teacher, but it’s much, much less fair to the person who is now forced to work some place he doesn’t want to.
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=Rice Cube]But won’t that mean that every player would want to be a Yankee since they give out the most lucrative contracts? You are describing a true free agency system for all levels then.[/quote]
It’s be like college football. Not everyone goes to Florida, Alabama and Texas because they want a chance to play.
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
[quote name=Jame Gumb]Boring.[/quote]It would be a thousand times more exciting than the draft, Ryno. It wouldn’t even be close. The first year they made these guys unrestricted free agents you’d be asking yourself why they didn’t do this to entertain you a long time ago.
mb21Quote Reply
My cache clears everytime I kill Firefox which is odd. I think I’m using some version of 3.5.x and was on Windows 7. I’m using the same version of Firefox on XP at work with no problems.
MishQuote Reply
[quote name=AB]Off-topic somewhat, I went to a seminar on Judaism and baseball a couple of weeks ago and saw a history professor from CU-Boulder who teaches a “Business and America through baseball” class (one of the most popular classes on campus) and he believed Marvin Miller (MLBPA president from the Curt Flood case) was the single most important sports figure of the 20th century and is responsible for making the professional sports industry the cash machine it is today.[/quote]He may be right. He was certainly the most hated man in baseball at the time.
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=Jame Gumb]It’s be like college football. Not everyone goes to Florida, Alabama and Texas because they want a chance to play.[/quote]There’s a huge difference between college and MLB. Money. These guys are going to sign for the most money and the Yankees can’t always offer the most money. Unless someone can tell me how the Yankees are going to generate additional revenue because there’s no draft, there’s no reason to think they’ll spend a dime more than they’re spending now.
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=Rice Cube]One of the objections seems to be that if they limited bonuses, the best players wouldn’t sign and it’d be a wasted pick. Another concern is that if they did that to draftees, it would eventually trickle into a salary cap. I don’t know why they couldn’t separate the draft bonuses from free agent salaries though.[/quote]
Maybe at first, but it doesn’t seem to be a problem in the NFL. Yeah, a HS kid might elect to go to college, but the drafting team would get a comp pick next year. Plus, the kid will still end up going back into the draft with the same slotting system.
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
MB would your universal free agency baseball have guaranteed contracts, or would it be at will employment?
GBTSQuote Reply
[quote name=mb21]There’s a huge difference between college and MLB. Money. These guys are going to sign for the most money and the Yankees can’t always offer the most money. Unless someone can tell me how the Yankees are going to generate additional revenue because there’s no draft, there’s no reason to think they’ll spend a dime more than they’re spending now.[/quote]
I disagree. If NYY signs 10 pitchers one offseason and OAK signs none, young pitchers would start to sign with OAK so they have a chance to play and earn more money. At least, the smart ones would.
[quote name=mb21]It would be a thousand times more exciting than the draft, Ryno. It wouldn’t even be close. The first year they made these guys unrestricted free agents you’d be asking yourself why they didn’t do this to entertain you a long time ago.[/quote]
I don’t know, the draft is way more exciting to me than the International FA period. But I’m more interested in the strategy of the draft than the players.
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
[quote name=AB]Off-topic somewhat, I went to a seminar on Judaism and baseball a couple of weeks ago and saw a history professor from CU-Boulder who teaches a “Business and America through baseball” class (one of the most popular classes on campus) and he believed Marvin Miller (MLBPA president from the Curt Flood case) was the single most important sports figure of the 20th century and is responsible for making the professional sports industry the cash machine it is today.[/quote]
This is very much true. Read “Lords of the Realm” by John Helyar and you’ll get plenty of support for that theory. Also, read it because it’s the best book about baseball history out there. It also makes Ricketts look relatively less dumb. Many baseball owners over the years couldn’t pour piss out of a boot if there were instructions on the side.
BerseliusQuote Reply
[quote name=GBTS]MB would your universal free agency baseball have guaranteed contracts, or would it be at will employment?[/quote]Guaranteed. It would have to be. The Royals may offer $18 million per season for 2 years, but the Yankees offer of $60 million over 4 years is going to be the one that the player signs. The overall money in the contract is the determining factor most of the time. If it wasn’t guaranteed, the Yankees would offer $60 million and then cut him after 2 years and pay him less than he was offered by the Royals.
mb21Quote Reply
Where are the Yankees going to get the kind of money to sign 10 teenage unrestricted free agents? We’re talking HUGE raises for guys like Strasburg. He’d easily have gotten $50 to $75 million (maybe more). I think that in itself makes it less likely the Yankees would tie up that kind of money in a young player who hasn’t even pitched professionally when they could sign a veteran free agent or trade for one.
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=Jame Gumb]I don’t know, the draft is way more exciting to me than the International FA period. But I’m more interested in the strategy of the draft than the players.[/quote]That’s because we know relatively little about the international free agents. There’s very little coverage. If that period was covered as in depth as the draft prospects, it would blow away the draft in terms of excitement.
What part of the baseball season is one that all fans love? The winter meetings because of all the rumors and the contracts signed as well as the trades discussed and made. It’s easily the most exciting part of the year for fans. The draft would be the exact same, but even bigger.
mb21Quote Reply
The fans most excited about the draft are the ones who get to pick 5 or 6 times in the first 40 or so picks. That would be every team every year being that excited.
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=Mish]My cache clears everytime I kill Firefox which is odd. I think I’m using some version of 3.5.x and was on Windows 7. I’m using the same version of Firefox on XP at work with no problems.[/quote]That’s weird.
Anybody else using Firefox 3.5.x on Windows 7?
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=mb21]Where are the Yankees going to get the kind of money to sign 10 teenage unrestricted free agents? We’re talking HUGE raises for guys like Strasburg. He’d easily have gotten $50 to $75 million (maybe more). I think that in itself makes it less likely the Yankees would tie up that kind of money in a young player who hasn’t even pitched professionally when they could sign a veteran free agent or trade for one.[/quote]
The market would even everything out. If they give that kind of money to a Strasburg, they’d offer less than a team like OAK would for a player like Taylor Jungmann because their need was met.
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
[quote name=mb21]The fans most excited about the draft are the ones who get to pick 5 or 6 times in the first 40 or so picks. That would be every team every year being that excited.[/quote]
I was only slightly less excited about the 2008 draft when SF picked 29th than the 2010 draft when they picked 13th and 17th. There are some people that just love the draft process.
If you’re a fan of the worst team in baseball, would you be more excited by a draft (where you were assured exclusive negotiating rights with the best player) or a signing period (where you could negotiate with everyone, but so could everyone else)?
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
[quote name=mb21]That’s weird.
Anybody else using Firefox 3.5.x on Windows 7?[/quote]I can’t stand when I see someone having cache issues who hasn’t upgraded their browser. It might be hard to keep track in Chrome or IE, but there’s no reason they can’t stay on top of their Firefox.
/Ricketts’d
GBTSQuote Reply
(dying laughing)
MishQuote Reply
I think this issue goes beyond just the Cubs, JG.
GBTSQuote Reply
Excitement or not, I’m in favor of each person being able to choose where he works. If the teacher wants to work in North Dakota and leave his entire family behind, fine. At least the choice wasn’t made for him/her. You could tell me the signing period would be the most boring thing on earth and I’d still favor it. I don’t even see how it’s legal to have a draft. Has anyone ever challenged it? Having a draft for the sake of parity doesn’t make it right. The school in bumfucknorthdakota would be better off it could select from the top teachers in the country each and every year, but that would be pretty fucked up in a country that is supposedly free.
mb21Quote Reply
Imagine how much better some districts would be if we had a draft for teachers. Theoretically, all districts would over time be equal to one another in terms of the caliber of the teachers they have. Doesn’t make it right even if it’s for the sake of the children, which is a much stronger argument in favor of a draft than one that is watched by people like us.
mb21Quote Reply
Candid video of Arnold searching for his bastard child and seeking career advice:
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
I’m sure it’s born out of the MLB’s antitrust exemption, MB.
But I do agree with your point. Regardless of profession, I believe in absolute freedom of movement of labor.
MishQuote Reply
Well it’d have to be in the CBA, but I imagine the groundwork is laid out higher up.
MishQuote Reply
[quote name=Mish]I’m sure it’s born out of the MLB’s antitrust exemption, MB.
But I do agree with your point. Regardless of profession, I believe in absolute freedom of movement of labor.[/quote]I knew you’d agree. I’m sure you also agree that the indentured servitude that the draftees have to go through before finally being able to choose their own job is also a joke. I really can’t believe it’s even allowed. Sports are the only profession around where we want the people to not have the same freedoms we do. It’s really odd.
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=mb21]Excitement or not, I’m in favor of each person being able to choose where he works. If the teacher wants to work in North Dakota and leave his entire family behind, fine. At least the choice wasn’t made for him/her. You could tell me the signing period would be the most boring thing on earth and I’d still favor it. I don’t even see how it’s legal to have a draft. Has anyone ever challenged it? Having a draft for the sake of parity doesn’t make it right. The school in bumfucknorthdakota would be better off it could select from the top teachers in the country each and every year, but that would be pretty fucked up in a country that is supposedly free.[/quote]
Antitrust laws.
If these guys are unhappy with the draft, they can go sign on with the Indy leagues or the UFL or whatever. Or they can take their lumps for a few years and become a free agent.
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
[quote name=Mish]Well it’d have to be in the CBA, but I imagine the groundwork is laid out higher up.[/quote]The same was true with regards to not allowing free agency, though. I’m certain if someone challenged the current process that it would be eliminated. Who is the next Marvin Miller? Right now MLB doesn’t give a shit about the young players so it’s probably not possible, but you’d think as teams begin to invest more heavily in younger players that the balance of power will begin to shit. At that point I can’t imagine the draft isn’t challenged.
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=mb21]I knew you’d agree. I’m sure you also agree that the indentured servitude that the draftees have to go through before finally being able to choose their own job is also a joke. I really can’t believe it’s even allowed. Sports are the only profession around where we want the people to not have the same freedoms we do. It’s really odd.[/quote]
Maybe thats why “fans” side with the owners in sports-related disputes.
MishQuote Reply
[quote name=Mish]I believe in absolute freedom of movement of labor.[/quote]
I’m sure this falls out of the category of “absolute,” but these guys are free to play in other leagues if they don’t want to abide by the process of the NFL or MLB.
It’s like the sexually-assaulted cheerleader. She didn’t have to be a cheerleader, but she had to do the cheers her team required if she wanted to be one.
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
[quote name=Jame Gumb]Antitrust laws.
If these guys are unhappy with the draft, they can go sign on with the Indy leagues or the UFL or whatever. Or they can take their lumps for a few years and become a free agent.[/quote]lumps for a few years? The average age of a first time free agent is 30. Take their lumps for more than a decade is more like it.
The idea they can go to Indy league is still absurd. They have the same right you do to maximize their earnings. If they’re good enough to play MLB, they should be able to make money in that league.
It’s not a question of if the draft is eliminated, but when. A few people at the top can’t legally decide to violate the rights of thousands of players.
mb21Quote Reply
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Smith_(defensive_back)
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
I don’t disagree with you Ryno. I do think think they have other options and to enter into the MLB the employer has the ability to limit some of their rights in that regard.
MishQuote Reply
[quote name=Jame Gumb]I’m sure this falls out of the category of “absolute,” but these guys are free to play in other leagues if they don’t want to abide by the process of the NFL or MLB.
It’s like the sexually-assaulted cheerleader. She didn’t have to be a cheerleader, but she had to do the cheers her team required if she wanted to be one.[/quote]That’s true. They’re free to make $15,000 in Indy ball. They’re NOT free to make as much money as they are worth, which is the whole point of a free society.
mb21Quote Reply
I think mb and I are more in favor of a true market within the MLB itself.
MishQuote Reply
[quote name=mb21]That’s true. They’re free to make $15,000 in Indy ball. They’re NOT free to make as much money as they are worth, which is the whole point of a free society.[/quote]Yes ma’am.
MishQuote Reply
[quote name=Mish]I don’t disagree with you Ryno. I do think think they have other options and to enter into the MLB the employer has the ability to limit some of their rights in that regard.[/quote]Sure, they can force them to wear a uniform and shave or clean their armpits, but they can’t legally restrict where they can work and for how much they can do so.
Right now the veterans have decided the rules. The 30 year olds are protecting themselves, which is why the league minimum in baseball is less than any of the other professional leagues. It’s a joke.
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=mb21]A few people at the top can’t legally decide to violate the rights of thousands of players.[/quote]
Actually, they can.
It’s not a rights violation. There are other avenues and athlete can pursue. It’s not like these guys are being persecuted. College football players can elect to join a number of leagues. If they choose to go to the NFL, they don’t get to choose their first team (unless they’re an undrafted free agent). A maximum of six years later, they’re an unrestricted free agent. Six years.
Granted, I’m mostly talking NFL, where players have more freedom than in MLB (which is what your’e talking).
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
You can have a right to freedom of movement but I don’t think there’s a right to employment, either.
MishQuote Reply
[quote name=mb21]That’s true. They’re free to make $15,000 in Indy ball. They’re NOT free to make as much money as they are worth, which is the whole point of a free society.[/quote]
They’re more than welcome to play in the MLB. They only problem is they can’t decide who drafts them. If a player is THAT unhappy the team that chooses them, they can re-enter the draft the next year. And the year after.
[quote name=Mish]I think mb and I are more in favor of a true market within the MLB itself.[/quote]
Of course. I’m not opposed to that either (though I much prefer a draft). But to try and assert that a draft is unconstitutional or a violation of rights is ridiculous.
Yazoo Smith tried this, and the Supreme Court said leagues could hold drafts under a “non-statutory labor exemption.” In other words, the league could hold a draft if the players agreed to it. They did.
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
Then why doesn’t every profession have a draft? At least I can make a strong argument that it would benefit the greater good. The very reason we don’t have drafts for teachers, lawyers, doctors, plumbers and carpenters is because we want to choose where we want to work. We want to choose where to work in the business we want making the maximum amount of money we can. You cannot say that an MLB player has other options because he doesn’t. Indy Ball is not an option for a player making $2 million per season, which is slightly less than the league average player. It would be like some guy making $75,000 accepting a job for minimum wage because that profession suddenly decided the employee couldn’t decide where to work.
There are no other realistic options. Sure, he can join a softball league if he really wants, but the teacher can teach the neighborhood kids how to run into traffic. It’s not a realistic option and it’s not one that allows the person to make a living doing what he is skilled to do.
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=Mish]You can have a right to freedom of movement but I don’t think there’s a right to employment, either.[/quote]I don’t think there is either, but why can’t the model used by every other profession in this country be used for professional sports? Can someone honestly tell me that parity is more important than giving these guys the same basic rights that every other citizen has?
mb21Quote Reply
You honestly don’t see anything wrong with this?
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=mb21]I don’t think there is either, but why can’t the model used by every other profession in this country be used for professional sports?[/quote]
It can, but the players elected to keep the draft.
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
I vote every profession in this country draft their workers. In 5 years let’s talk about how fucked up it is.
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=Jame Gumb]It can, but the players elected to keep the draft.[/quote]It doesn’t matter. You can’t decide what’s right for me. Most of the players in baseball were OK with the crap prior to free agency. it took a few people to challenge it and that system was forever changed. It will be again. The idea that you can draft an employee is absurd. It always has been and always will be.
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=mb21]You honestly don’t see anything wrong with this?[/quote]
No, but I’m not looking for any crusades. If there’s a team I don’t want to play for, I have my agent tell them not to draft me. That simple. If they do draft me, I can sit out or play for them for a few years.
These guys have options. They might not be the best options, but it’s not like they’re being forced into the draft.
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
It’s also important to point out that not a single player in the draft agreed to that system. Not one. So no, they did not agree to the draft. They didn’t have a choice.
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=mb21]It doesn’t matter. You can’t decide what’s right for me.[/quote]
If you don’t like it, don’t enter the MLB draft.
[quote name=mb21]The idea that you can draft an employee is absurd. It always has been and always will be.[/quote]
And the draft will exist until the players’ union decides to abolish it.
The world can’t be tailored to each individual. The players have a right to get rid of the draft. If it’s so unfair, they’ll do it.
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
True. They can go flip burgers for $9 an hour. Lovely choice.
mb21Quote Reply
These guys aren’t MLB players that are being drafted. Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Alex Rodriguez cannot determine what is right for someone who is not yet an MLB player.
mb21Quote Reply
I’m shocked that someone as Libertarian as Ryno agrees with the current system.
mb21Quote Reply
In my company we have positions all over the world. They can ask me to work in other places, 99% of which are shitty locations, in which case I’d most likely get a raise/promotion. Yes I can choose to deny it, but then I’d be denying my chance for a promotion/raise at this moment, and most likely for opportunities in the future since they see it as me turning down an opportunity to grow.
Why should MLB be exempt from this? They have the right to play baseball or not play baseball. If they have to move for their career that is an option they can make and everyone in the job world has that option. Either that or they can choose another job to make less money.
WaLiQuote Reply
[quote name=mb21]It’s also important to point out that not a single player in the draft agreed to that system. Not one. So no, they did not agree to the draft. They didn’t have a choice.[/quote]
If someone doesn’t want to play for the team that drafts them, they don’t have to.
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
[quote name=mb21]I don’t think there is either, but why can’t the model used by every other profession in this country be used for professional sports? Can someone honestly tell me that parity is more important than giving these guys the same basic rights that every other citizen has?[/quote]
Initially (I think starting in 1879), baseball contracts had “reserve clauses” which gave the teams/owners a massive claim over its players. Starting in 1914 and culminatining in 1922, the Baltimore Terrapins sued the MLB/National League for cornering the market on players, and in the ’22 case of Federal Club of Baltimore Baseball vs National League, the Court came down on the side of the NL. In the opinion, Justice OW Holmes said: “personal effort, not related to production, is not a subject of commerce” and that baseball therefore wasn’t subject to federal regulation.
This sort of set a precedent for keeping the gov’t out of regulating baseball (which is rare because this was during an era where the commerce clause would be broadly interpreted).
Shortly after Flood vs Kuhn, baseball would ultimately enter the Free Agency era making the “reserve clause” effectively invalid. Bill Clinton would eventually pass the Curt Flood Act which removed the reserve clause all together, but that was more for show as the MLB was already in the middle of a CBA between the players and owners.
Just some quick background on the regulatory environment that I drudged up just now.
MishQuote Reply
new stuff: http://obstructedview.net/chicago-cubs/articles/are-the-cubs-out-of-it.html
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=WaLi]In my company we have positions all over the world. They can ask me to work in other places, 99% of which are shitty locations, in which case I’d most likely get a raise/promotion. Yes I can choose to deny it, but then I’d be denying my chance for a promotion/raise at this moment, and most likely for opportunities in the future since they see it as me turning down an opportunity to grow.
Why should MLB be exempt from this? They have the right to play baseball or not play baseball. If they have to move for their career that is an option they can make and everyone in the job world has that option. Either that or they can choose another job to make less money.[/quote]You get to make the choice whether or not to accept the promotion and move. Brett Jackson didn’t get to accept whether or not he wanted to work for the Cubs. His only option was to give up the skill he’s most qualified at.
mb21Quote Reply
new thread
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply