St. Louis Cardinals: Curt Flood and protests in baseball

Those who think baseball should stand apart from current events may not have been pleased when a rookie catcher knelt during the National Anthem this week. But as it’s important to remember, one of our St. Louis Cardinals greats, Curt Flood, changed the game of baseball forever by placing his own career on the line.

On Christmas Eve 1969, Curt Flood, who had been traded by the St. Louis Cardinals to the Philadelphia Phillies, wrote to then-baseball-commissioner Bowie Kuhn asking to be released from his contract. The Reserve Clause, which appeared in every MLB player agreement, allowed the team to renew a player indefinitely.

Flood had definitely been impacted by the civil rights movement of the 1960s, and believed the Reserve Clause was tantamount to slavery. As he told Kuhn in his letter, “I do not feel I am a piece of property to be bought and sold irrespective of my wishes.” 

Kuhn denied the request, and Flood sued for his right to free agency. As is the case with many at the advent of a rights movement, he lost his case, which went all the way to the United States Supreme Court. And other than a short stint in the American League in 1971, Flood never played again.

His total major league compensation over all or part of fifteen seasons — a very fine career comprising over 40 WAR — was about $470,000.

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As we know, Flood’s willingness to sacrifice his career for his principles results in a sea change for MLB ballplayers.  In late 1975, pitcher Andy Messersmith won an arbitration in which it was determined that the Reserve Clause was not a perpetual renewal device, but was limited to one year after the contract term.

That ruling, and the emphatic leadership of union leader Marvin Miller, led to agreements that forever changed how players and owners would come to the bargaining table to allocate their respective rights.

And even today, the great St. Louis Cardinals outfielder is recognized in the so-called Curt Flood Rule, that allows players with ten years in the league and their last five with the same team, to refuse a trade to another team.

So often, fans are want to say that they go to games for distraction from everyday life, and ask why players (or fans) bring their grievances to the ballpark. But players, owners and fans, not to mention everyone else associated with baseball, are part of overall society, and their lives don’t end at the stadium gates.

For some, there are issues of such import to the underpinnings of our country that players or others are willing to put themselves on a stage in furtherance of their beliefs. Curt Flood sacrificed so much, and his actions have inured to the benefit of thousands of professional athletes.

Next: Help Puerto Rico!

When we think about protests or other forms of civil and respectful disobedience, it’s important to keep Flood in mind.