How we got free agents in baseball

At 4 a.m. on October 8, 1969, Kurt Flood was woken by a phone call. He was 31, an all-star center fielder who had spent 12 years with the St. Louis Cardinals, led them to three World Series, and planned to finish his career there. A middle manager from the front office told him he had just been traded to the Philadelphia Phillies. Flood did not want to go. The Phillies had finished second-to-last in their division. And Flood was Black; Phillies fans had a history of treating Black players badly — one had worn a helmet in the outfield because fans threw batteries at his head.

Flood had no real choice. Under baseball's rules, when you were drafted, you played for that team. If they traded you, you went. If you didn't like it, you could quit. This was called the Reserve Clause: teams reserved the rights to each player forever. Flood thought it was illegal. He decided to sue Major League Baseball for the right to work for whatever employer might hire him. His case went to the Supreme Court, helped ruin his life, and changed professional sports forever.

The monopsony problem