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John Buck learned about Curt Flood, and made sure other players would, too

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Gerrit Cole signed with the Yankees for a massive nine-year, $324 million deal that gave him the largest annual average payout of any deal in MLB. It’s the kind of contract that’s only possible because free agency, as an institution, exists: Cole was allowed to go into the open market, freed from the initial deal he inked when the Pirates drafted him in 2011 and then brought him to the majors in 2013, and agreed to sign with the team he wanted to, for the immense money they had to offer in order to show it wasn’t a one-way desire.

It feels like a given these days that this order of operations exists, but Cole didn’t forget that the existence of free agency is what brought him to this point, and during his press conference introducing him as a Yankee, he thanked the first Executive Director of the Players Association, Marvin Miller, and Curt Flood, who challenged MLB and its longstanding reserve clause, for what they did to allow the moment Cole was in to even exist. On its own, it was an excellent gesture, the kind of thing Miller himself said didn’t happen often enough in his own time guiding the players’ union, but the backstory makes it an even better moment.

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Nolan Arenado is mad at the Rockies for reasons predictable to everyone besides the Rockies

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The last few months have seemed like years thanks to the various scandals and general awfulness of Major League Baseball, but even so, you probably remember that weird moment in October where the Rockies decided they were just going to say whatever was on their mind without a filter. If not, well, let’s take you back to that day, and my coverage of it:

GM Jeff Bridich had some awkward honesty in his own presser, telling everyone that he’s the one who pushed for the opt-out in star third baseman Nolan Arenado’s lucrative extension. Why would he do that, you ask? Well, according to The Athletic’s Nick Groke: “Bridich said he feels no pressure to prove a winning team as a way to keep Arenado.” So, the Rockies locked up their most popular, best player to a long-term deal, earning some goodwill, which was much-needed after years of losing previous franchise icons for one reason or another. They also provided that player with an escape hatch he didn’t ask for, and straight-up said they don’t feel like they need to try in order to keep him from going through it. So, should Arenado leave because Colorado decides being a garbage fire is better than trying, the Rockies can at least hypothetically blame him for taking off: it was out of their hands, you know, he had the option to bail.

And now let’s look at this week’s news, courtesy Jeff Passan:

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Astros’ $5 million fine a reminder MLB works for the owners, not the other way around

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Five million dollars. That’s how much money the Astros were fined by Major League Baseball as part of their punishment for stealing signs using video technology, en route to a World Series championship in 2017. It’s the maximum amount of money that any team can be fined by the league, and it’s a paltry sum, especially in the context of what Houston got from the cheating itself.

The Astros made $66 million in profit in the season following their 2017 title run — teams that win the World Series tend to see an uptick in attention and revenue. They also earned additional cash in the 2017 postseason, too, simply by being there and playing through to a Game 7 victory. The Astros’ players alone split over $30 million in postseason shares that fall, and that money came from a larger pool of postseason earnings that was split with each postseason teams’ players and the teams’ owners. That $5 million is nothing compared to what Houston gained.

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John Henry tries to pin blame for his own words about payroll on the media

The Dodgers define themselves as successful for private reasons they won’t share with you

Senne v. MLB wins another court victory

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It’s taken years, as these things do, but the lawsuit Senne v. MLB has been picking up wins of late. In August of last year, Senne v. MLB — full name Aaron Senne et al. v. Kansas City Royals Baseball Corp — was granted class action status, allowing players to collectively seek unpaid wages for their time playing in Minor League Baseball. As we’ve covered in this space before, minor-league players are not paid for spring training, nor for the postseason, as they are paid just during the regular season, meaning low-level players are pulling in around $1,100 per month for less than half of the year. And, thanks to Congress, they aren’t eligible for overtime despite putting in well over 40 hours per week in the season, plus whatever offseason work needs to be performed in order to thrive in-season.

Now, there’s another W to stack on top of the transition to class action status, as the Ninth Circuit court denied MLB’s appeal over that status: that means the Supreme Court is the only place left to appeal to if MLB wants to avoid going to trial.

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The year in creating baseball coverage, featuring leftism

MiLB players speak on MLB’s idea of “waste”

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Part of Rob Manfred and Major League Baseball’s plan to shrink the minor leagues revolves around the concept of “waste.” Per a report by Bill Madden, “waste” was an important reason to agree to this plan to disaffiliate 42 minor-league teams: you can see my reaction to that reveal as well, as it published here in mid-November. This time around, though, the focus is on what minor-league players think of this idea, that any player who doesn’t make it to the bigs was a “waste” of resources for MLB teams.

I spoke with three players — two former, one active but anonymous to protect them from any blowback from MLB — for a feature that published at TalkPoverty earlier this month, titled “Major League Baseball Wants to Crush 42 Minor League Teams — And Their Hometowns.” I asked them a wider range of questions than what was used in that one piece, however, including on the subject of “waste.”

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50 years ago today, Curt Flood challenged MLB’s reserve clause

On December 24, 1969, Curt Flood sent a letter to then-MLB commissioner, Bowie Kuhn. The letter was to let Kuhn know that Flood did not believe he could be traded from the St. Louis Cardinals to the Philadelphia Phillies, that the rights the Cardinals had over Flood — rights he had agreed to by signing with them — should not immediately transfer over to the Phillies, a team he did not agree to play or relocate for.

It was the start of something significant, and also, in essence, the end for Flood in Major League Baseball. He knew that going in, though, knew that by sending this letter to Kuhn, and later fighting MLB in the courts over his right to free agency, that even if he won, he had lost something. Flood knew all of that — executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association Marvin Miller made sure, repeatedly, that Flood knew the score in this regard, and wrote at length about that in his memoir — and yet, he sent the letter and challenged MLB in the courts, anyway. We don’t talk about Curt Flood enough, you know.

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Category: MLB

John Buck learned about Curt Flood, and made sure other players would, too

Nolan Arenado is mad at the Rockies for reasons predictable to everyone besides the Rockies

Astros’ $5 million fine a reminder MLB works for the owners, not the other way around

John Henry tries to pin blame for his own words about payroll on the media

The Dodgers define themselves as successful for private reasons they won’t share with you

Senne v. MLB wins another court victory

The year in creating baseball coverage, featuring leftism

MiLB players speak on MLB’s idea of “waste”

50 years ago today, Curt Flood challenged MLB’s reserve clause

MLB’s 2019 luxury tax reports are in, depressing