Pioneer Flood changed economics of baseball
A model of this story initially ran in February 2017.
ST. LOUIS — There’s seemingly nobody in Cardinals historical past with a legacy extra complicated than Curt Flood, who sacrificed his standout profession for a better good from which he by no means personally benefited.
Flood stays one of many most interesting middle fielders in franchise historical past. He joined the group in 1958, received seven consecutive Gold Glove Awards starting in ’63 and hit higher than .300 in six of his 12 years with St. Louis. Flood was additionally a key contributor on the Cardinals’ 1964 and ’67 World Series championship golf equipment.
However, who he was as a participant will perpetually be overshadowed by what he meant to those that got here after him. It was Flood who, upon being traded to the Phillies on Oct. 7, 1969, took a stand that may successfully finish his profession and alter the game perpetually.
Flood refused to just accept the commerce, and two months later he penned a letter to Commissioner Bowie Kuhn through which Flood started his battle towards the reserve clause. This clause sure a participant to at least one crew until that membership selected to commerce or launch that participant. There was no such factor as free company then, and a 1921 Supreme Court case had dominated that baseball was exempt from antitrust legal guidelines.
With the backing of union chief Marvin Miller, Flood determined to problem this method.
“After 12 years in the Major Leagues, I do not feel I am a piece of property to be bought and sold irrespective of my wishes,” Flood wrote to Kuhn. “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.”
After Kuhn refused to grant Flood free company, Flood filed a lawsuit towards the Commissioner and MLB, alleging a violation of antitrust legal guidelines.
“Any time there is a major change in the game, it doesn’t happen, for the most part, with a no-name player,” stated Brian Finch, a member of the Cardinals’ museum workers for 17 years and connoisseur of franchise historical past. “For all that Jackie Robinson went through, he had to be able to show on the field what he could be for them to put up with all that happened off the field. It was the same with Curt Flood. Owners weren’t going to listen to someone that they knew was disposable. Flood was an outstanding, All-Star, Gold Glove center fielder. You can’t replace those.”
Nevertheless, Flood understood that his battle would additionally derail his profession. After sitting out the 1970 season, Flood, at 33 years outdated, appeared in 13 video games in ’71 for the Washington Senators. That marked the top of his on-field profession.
In 1972, Flood’s case towards MLB reached the Supreme Court, which dominated, 5-3, in favor of MLB. No lively gamers stepped out to testify — and even attend — the trial in help of Flood.
However, the misplaced case wasn’t a misplaced trigger. In 1976, pitchers Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally agreed to play with out contracts, they usually have been later dominated free brokers by arbitrator Peter Seitz. The reserve clause disintegrated, and the groundwork without cost company as we all know it right this moment was laid.
“The fact that Curt Flood, one of the best all-around players of his generation, was willing to risk it all for others is one of the greatest displays of personal sacrifice known to the sports world,” stated Tony Clark, the manager director of the MLB Players Association.
“It takes years of dedication and perseverance to make it to the Major Leagues as a player. And once you get there, it’s even harder to stay. Curt could have quietly accepted his trade and moved on, but he chose not to. He took on a cause, because he believed it to be the right thing to do — not just for himself, but for all those players who would one day follow in his footsteps.”
Baseball economics have been perpetually remodeled by Flood’s battle. The common wage of an MLB participant in 2016 was $4.4 million — almost 10 instances the quantity Flood revamped his total 15-year profession.
Flood was awarded the NAACP Jackie Robinson Award for contributions to black athletes in 1992, and he acquired a standing ovation when he appeared at an MLBPA assembly following the 1994 labor stoppage.
Two days after turning 59 years outdated, Flood died of throat most cancers on Jan. 20, 1997. Later that yr, Congress launched laws that established federal antitrust regulation safety for Major League gamers, named the Baseball Fans and Communities Protection Act of 1997.
A yr later, Congress launched an identical laws, titled the Curt Flood Act of 1998.
“Because he came our way, we are better,” Rev. Jesse Jackson stated at Flood’s funeral. “Baseball didn’t change Curt Flood. Curt Flood changed baseball. Curt opened the floodgates.”
