Now that the first forty rounds of the MLB draft are over,
this seems to be a good time to take a look at how far baseball has come. The
newest players of the professional baseball select few should take a look at
what conditions and terms were put on players and how those players fought to
make baseball what it is for players and fans. In order to appreciate our
future, we need to know what was in our past.
Some may say that the flaw in capitalism is that the
workers have to work for wages far less than what the bosses make for their
work. In other words, one worker may
produce $100.00 worth of goods in one hour for his boss while receiving a mere
$7.50 for his hourly wage. As grim as
this may sound, it is an improvement for the workers as many movements,
strikes, and acts of congress made labor conditions better for the American
worker. These labor conditions were not
only harsh in some cases for the steal, automotive, restaurant industry, but
for professional sports as well. Some
people do not tend to think of the professional sports industry in much the
same way, but there was a process lasting for nearly 100 years before the
professional athlete could have equitable labor conditions.
. The professional sport that pioneered
this change was Major League Baseball which has a history that is not very
different from the other professional sports in that many players had a reserve
clause that in a sense made them slaves to their respective teams (Dworkin,
1981). The reserve clause was
worded in players’ contracts as such:
On or before December 20 (or if a Sunday, then
the next preceding business day) in the year of the last playing season covered
by the contract, the Club may tender to the Player a contract for the term of
that year by mailing the same to the Player at his address following his
signature hereto, or if none be given, then at his last address of record with
the Club. If prior to the March 1 next succeeding said December 20, the
Player and the Club have not agreed upon the terms of such contract, then on or before 10 days
after said March 1, the Club shall have the right by written notice to the
Player as said address to renew this contract for the period of one year on the
same terms, except that the amount payable to the Player shall be
such as the Club shall fix in said notice; provided, however, that said amount,
if fixed by a Major League Club, shall be an amount payable at a rate not less
than 80 percent of the rate stipulated for the next preceding year and at a
rate not less than 70 percent of the rate stipulated for the year immediately prior
to the next preceding game (Dworkin, 1981, p.63).
The reserve clause was “an iron
cable that bound a player to his team” (Thornley, 2011, p.2). It bound players
to their teams indefinitely, giving them no choice and an inability to acquire
market value for their talent.
In 1885, John Montgomery Ward
formed the Brotherhood of Professional Base Ball Players along with eight other
players (MLBPA, 2012, p. 1). His
intentions were to form a unified front that would express interest in
obtaining player rights. Although their
attempts were not successful, they started discussion that lead to more
discussions and other attempts. These
attempts included the founding of the Players’ Protective Association that
started at the turn of the century, the Fraternity of Professional Baseball
Players of America in 1912, and the American Baseball Guild in 1946 (MLBPA,
2012, p.1).
It had by this point been more
than a half of century and professional baseball players had not brought an end
to the reserve clause. In 1968, Marvin
Miller became involved and started the grueling task of forging a “bona fide
labor union” (MLBPA, 2012, p.1). After a
lot of hard work, mainly educating players of the advantages of organizing and
solidarity, he helped players negotiate the first
collective bargaining agreement in professional sports (MLBPA, 2012, p.2). In
this, they negotiated the right to arbitration to resolve grievances, but the
reserve clause remained in place despite Curt Flood’s attempt to challenge the
reserve clause in a suit that was eventually heard by the U.S. Supreme Court
that ruled against him (MLBPA, 2012, p.2).
Three
years later, Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally challenged the reserve clause
through the actions of an independent arbitrator who heard the case. This proved to be successful as the players
finally won the right to free agency (MLBPA, 2012, p.2). It was 90 years in the making when arbitrator
Peter Seitz ruled that the reserve clause granted a team only one additional
year of service from a player (MLBPA, 2012, p.2).
In modern times, athletes are more
aware of their rights. The National
Labor Relations Act (NLRA) comes into play for the protection of workers (Sharp, Moorman, Claussen, 2007) The impact it has on
sports are unique and in some cases very different from other work forces. In some cases there seems a
contradiction. An individual once
claimed that he was denied market value pay due to the CBA between his union
and employer; his claim was rejected by the circuit court without much of a
fight (Griffith, 1995, p.2). However, in the sports industry the CBA allows for
individual salary bargaining so that each individual can get his market value
pay (Griffith, 1995. P.2). In the sports market, players have earned the right to
form unions that support individual salary bargaining – this right seems to be
the center-piece to their successes.
The major reason for the
difference is that the sports market has to keep a level of competition between
themselves in order to create a product (Griffith, 1995, p.3). For an example, the Kellogg Company can make
cereal without the help of any other cereal company, but the Chicago Bears
cannot make a football game without another team. In this example, the product
is a game or a season of games. Not only
must there be a game, but consumers will not consume the product if it is not
of a certain quality. With this in mind,
sport industries must have some flexibility to operate.
Thus the battle for player rights
was won to equal the rights of the business world. Although it is easy for the baseball players
to carry the persona as “The boys of summer,” it is also advantageous for
the world to also see them as workers
earning a living for their wives and children.
Dworkin, J., Owners versus Players: Baseball and
Collective Bargaining, Boston: Auburn
House Publishing Company, 1981, p. 63
Griffith, C., (1995). AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION FORUM ON THE
ENTERTAINMENT AND
SPORTS INDUSTRIES. THE IMPACT OF LABOR LAW ON PROFESSIONAL SPORTS.
http://www.ccgpa.com/fimpactlaborSports.html
Sharp, L., Moorman, A., & Claussen,
C. (2007). Sport law: A managerial approach. Scottsdale,
AZ:
Holcomb Hathaway Publishers.
Thornley, S., (May, 2003). Milke Espress. The Demise of the Reserve Clause The
Players’
Path
to Freedom http://milkeespress.com/reserveclause.html
