Thirty-four years ago arbitrator Peter Seitz ruled that baseball clubs could renew a player's contract for only one year, effectively elminating the reserve clause that gave teams exclusive control over a player's fortunes.
What is most fascinating to me about the situation in 1976 is that by the time spring training started that year at least 150 players, or 25 percent of all big leaguers, had not signed a contract, including several of the game's biggest stars. The year before only 10 players were unsigned at the same point. When those who eventually went the entire year unsigned (despite fear of injury leading to lost livelihood) and opted for free agency, 15 teams signed players to contracts totalling more than $24.5 million. It was only the beginning. Today, individual stars earn more than $20 million a year by themselves.
It's easy to see today's numbers and think ballplayers have it made. But it wasn't always that way. It took a few courageous individuals, notably Curt Flood and Andy Messersmith, to buck the system and open the door for players to be compensated for their fair value.
