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This Day In Baseball History: December 23rd (Messersmith, McNally Declared Free Agents)
By Administrator | December 23, 2009
In 1953, Jim ‘Junior’ Gilliam was named the National League Rookie of the Year… the Dodgers second baseman easily beat Harvey Haddix and Ray Jablonski.
In 1960, Rip Collins joined the Cubs’ college of coaches.
In 1975, in a landmark decision, arbitrator Peter Seitz began a new era in major league baseball when he declared pitchers Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally the first true free agents in MLB history… after each had played for their team without signing a contract during their option year, the players challenged the owners assumption that the reserve clause meant one-year contracts were automatically renewed.
Also in 1975, on the same day he delivered his historic ruling on Messersmith and McNally, arbitrator Peter Seitz was dismissed by John Gaherin, the owners’ representative in labor matters… Seitz, who had been hired by MLB to settle player disputes, was asked by management to refrain from discussing or writing about his landmark decision.
In 1985, thousands of fans, including former President Richard Nixon and MLB Commissioner Peter Ueberroth, attended a funeral mass at New York’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral in honor of Roger Maris.
In 1994, major league owners implemented a salary cap and revenue sharing on striking players.
In 2005, the NY Yankees introduced newly-signed OF Johnny Damon to the New York media… the cleanly-shaven center fielder, one of the heroes of the 2004 Red Sox world championship team, signed a four-year, $52 million contract free agent deal with Boston’s arch-rivals — much to the chagrin of Red Sox Nation.
In 2008, the NY Yankees reached a preliminary agreement on an eight-year, $180 million contract with 1B Mark Teixeira. The 28-year old joined LHP CC Sabathia ($161 seven-years) and RHP A. J. Burnett ($82.5 million, five-years) becoming the third free-agent to be signed to a big contract by the Bronx Bombers this month in the biggest free agent spending spree in baseball history.
Born Today: Jerry Koosman (1942), Jerry Manual (1953), Shawn Chacon (1977)
Topics: MLB History |
