MLB BASEBALL HISTORY
There had been a brief MLB player’s strike at the start of the 1972 season, which delayed the start of the season by 13 days. This was much more serious, and little negotiation took place. After fifty days, the owners relented and agreed to a modified compensation plan. In return, MLB players not yet eligible for free-agency could have their salaries decided by an arbitrator. The MLB economic issues became more complicated, and the adversarial relationship between owners and players grew more intense.
In 1985, the MLB players struck again. The MLB team owners had hoped that salary arbitration would help keep salaries down, but it propelled them through the roof. The MLB team owners wanted to change it, the MLB players said no way. After two days, the MLB team owners relented and the players came back.
Then the free-agent market suddenly and mysteriously dried up. Following the 1986 season, MLB players in search of contracts found no bidders, and many re-signed with their teams for lower salaries. This continued for the next few years, until an arbitrator ruled that the MLB team owners had colluded. The collective bargaining prohibited that action, and the MLB players were awarded damages.
In 1992, the owners forced Commissioner to resign. The labor contract was about to expire, and they didn’t want him to interfere in negotiations. They had gone to a strike or a lockout every time the collective bargaining agreement expired, and the MLB players didn’t want to go through that again. They started 1994 season without a contract. The MLB team owners were insisting that a salary cap was necessary for teams to survive. They claimed free agency and salary arbitration were wrecking them. No progress was being made, so the MLB players went on strike in August.
The MLB World Series was canceled for the first time in 92 years. MLB baseball fans across the country were heartbroken. President Clinton appointed a mediator, but nothing happened. Finally, the owners decided to unilaterally implement their own plan. They assembled teams of replacement players and set out to start the 1995 season without the “real” players. The MLB players asked for and got a restraining order, forcing them to work under the terms of the old agreement until a new one was reached.
It took almost two more years for a labor deal to be reached, and it finally happened in November of 1996.
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