50 years ago this month, Major League Baseball changed forever. That’s when arbitrator Peter Seitz ruled in favor of pitchers Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally against the league. The pair played in 1975 after refusing to sign contracts with their respective teams, and after years of pioneering efforts by the likes of Marvin Miller and Curt Flood, the MLB Players Association finally had the chance to eliminate the reserve clause altogether.
Seitz decided to do away with that infamous provision and create a new path for players to hit the open market after six or seven years of service, depending on the situation. While most bosses resent and lament the end of the game’s spirit (apparently just that, rather than their outright feudal control of the market), teams can still make significant improvements by simply paying some cold hard cash. No one was more willing to do that than the New York Yankees and new owner George Steinbrenner.
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Steinbrenner, who with his partners purchased the Yankees from CBS for $8.7 million in 1973, told the press, “As far as running the Yankees, we plan on absentee ownership… We’re not going to pretend to be who we are. I’m going to build the ship.”
That commitment barely lasted until the first week of spring training. In fact, it soon became apparent that Steinbrenner was willing to do whatever it took to win, and as free agents settled into the sport, he proved ready to open his checkbook. The Yankees have regularly had highly paid stars, dating back to the days when Babe Ruth made more money than Presidents Herbert Hoover and Joe DiMaggio, who became the first MLB player to make $100,000 a year. But Steinbrenner’s near-relentless pursuit of top free agents — including the best players and the best players at the time — tied the Yankees closely to the entire process. Even in relatively downturns, they are always lurking like tigers, seemingly ready to seize any opportunity that appeals to them most at the time.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of free agency as we know it, we’re telling 50 different famous Yankees free agent signing stories in chronological order, from the blockbuster to the blockbuster. For better or worse, they’re part of Yankees history, and free agent busts are probably more famous than most signings.
As a disclaimer, Please know from the jump We don’t necessarily focus on just the smartest moves, the cheapest deals, or the richest contracts of all. These are all different categories. The screening process is designed to capture the Yankees free agent signings that are generating the most buzz at the time. So, for example, even though the 2011 resurgence of Bartolo Colon was a huge success on an initial minor league deal, that doesn’t qualify.
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Extensions are also not eligible, as these negotiations are naturally different from negotiations when open markets legally exist. However, if the player becomes a free agent and re-signs, Then This entry will be under consideration. Trading big contracts is not the same as signing free agents, so you won’t find a deal for Giancarlo Stanton here, nor a deal for Randy Johnson, who was quickly re-signed. Negotiating and free agency are two completely different things. Finally, some players may be eligible for multiple free agent signings, but to ensure diversity, we only sign primary contracts for each player.
Enough with the methodology! It’s time to discover the real story. Starting today, we have a historic free agent signing that will be discussed nearly every day until the start of spring training, released primarily on weekdays and skipping the holidays. This introduction will remain on the home page, with links updated as new articles are published.
We hope you enjoy it!
catfish hunter (1974-75 offseason)
reggie jackson (1976-77 offseason)
Goose intestines (1977-78 offseason)
tommy john (1978-79 offseason)
Dave Winfield (1980-81 offseason)
Dave Collins (1981-82 offseason)
Don Baylor (1982-83 offseason)
Phil Niekro (1983-84 offseason)