In the Cardinals’ 1968 season, he was a key contributor, batting. Thanks to arbitrator Peter Seitz’s ruling in the grievance, affirming the possibility for free agency, pro athletes in all sports have moved significantly more freely from team to team within these past 45 years, and they’ve witnessed the dollar amounts within their contracts balloon in the process.īut nearly six years to the day before the historic ruling in favor of baseball pitchers Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally (who brought the grievance before Seitz), it was Flood who took a firm initial stand against the entire league, when he crafted the letter above.įlood was a very talented outfielder for the St. 23, 1975, when an arbitrator ruled against the reserve clause. But since the language within the clause essentially said the contract automatically renewed each year, there really was never an opportunity for that negotiation window to open.īecause of this reserve clause most Major League players prior to the mid-1970s stayed predominantly with one team during their careers.Īs you read yesterday, that all changed Dec. The reserve clause stated that players had to wait until a year after their contract expired before they could negotiate a contract with a different team. The vaguely-worded clause indicated that players were beholden to their teams each year, and that those rights rolled over each season, unless the team either traded said player, placed him on a reserve list from which another team could claim him, or the player retired. You learned in yesterday’s blog and 6 Feet, 60 Seconds video that for decades MLB had a “reserve clause” in player contracts which effectively allowed teams to keep their players for life. He continued: “I believe that any system which produces that result violates my basic rights as a citizen and is inconsistent with the laws of the United States and of the several States.” On Christmas Eve 1969, Curtis Charles Flood - then a Major League veteran who was a three-time All-Star, two-time World Series champion and seven-time Gold Glove Award winner as the best fielder at his position - forcefully told MLB commissioner Bowie Kuhn he was rejecting the league’s long practice of owning a player’s complete contractual rights.Īs you can read plainly in the now 51-year-old letter above, Flood delivered an immediate haymaker: “… I do not feel that I am a piece of property to be bought and sold irrespective of my wishes.” It’s the day one ballplayer finally had enough of working under a system that made him feel less like a man, and more like a piece of property, shuttled about with no autonomy and independence of free thought. In the sports world, this day carries great historical weight, too. You are missed, brother.īecause of these specific events, this day has an immense significance in my life and in the lives of those closest to me. And a Happy Heavenly Birthday to Edward Aschoff. A Happy 92nd Birthday to my Grandmother Elaine.
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