From
the Diamond to the Courtroom
Much
of the history of baseball since the
mid-20th century has unfolded in the courtroom
rather
than on the diamond. Club franchises
fought for their right to move from one
city to
another and players fought for the right
to become free agents after a certain length
of time in the league. In Players had very
little power to negotiate with owners until
the Major League Baseball Players Association,
a player union, was formed in 1966. In
1972,
baseball players went on strike for 13
days to get a better pension plan for retired
players. The threat of a strike loomed
again
in 1973 when players demanded the right
to salary arbitration. The owners consented
in the 11th hour and a strike was avoided.
It was an arbitrator who, in 1975, granted
players the right to become free agents
and move from one team to another after
playing for a certain number of years. In
1981, the players were on strike again after
owners tried to limit free agency. The strike
lasted 50 days. Unfortunately, the labor
disputes were not over. Owners locked players
out in both 1976 and 1990. The players staged
a two-day strike in 1985 and in 1994 the
entire post season was cancelled when players
and owners could not reach agreement on
a salary cap.
Meanwhile…Play
Ball!
Even when strikes and
courtroom dramas drive fans away from the
game, baseball players and games slowly
draw them back. Fans are quick to join
in watching and cheering on a record-setting
streak. Such streaks include Hank Aaron’s
quest to break Babe Ruth’s all-time
homerun record in 1974, Pete Rose breaking
Ty Cobb’s career hit record in 1985,
Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa and later Barry
Bonds setting season homerun records, and
Cal Ripken, Jr., playing in 2,632 consecutive
games
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