![]() If the reserve clause had remained in effect, Ted Williamswhen he is thawed in 200 yearswould have no choice but to play for the Boston Red Sox if he wanted to resume a career in major league baseball. The reserve clause had its origin at the end of the 1879 National League season and soon evolved into the form it would keep well into the second half of the 20th century. He could be traded, sold, or released, but the player himself could not initiate any moves on his own. Even after the contract itself expired, a player remained tied to the team. The reserve clause bound a player to his team for as long as the team, not the player, desired. ![]() The owners have spent the ensuing 30 years trying to reverse its direction. However, once the owners lost the ability to bind players to their teams indefinitely, which had been the result of the reserve clause for nearly 100 years, the pendulum swung greatly toward the players. The players had made some gains, particularly with the formation of a viable union, but the owners were still in control. Prior to the decision, the pendulum of power had been firmly with the owners. This article also appeared in the 2006 Society for American Baseball Research Baseball Research JournalVolume 35.Ī moment that marked a dramatic shift in the power structure between major league baseball players and owners came on Decemwhen an arbitrators decision brought an end to the primary effects of the reserve clause. ![]() Demise of the Reserve Clause The Demise of the Reserve Clause
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