Philadelphia Baseball History

The news at the end of Friday was that the Phillies had avoided arbitration with five of the six players eligible this year. That one player with whom the Phillies have not reached an agreement is Aaron Nola. News reports indicate that Nola seeks $6.75 from the arbitrator, while the Phillies want the aribitrator to award $4.5 million. Many Phillies fans are incensed over this. Nola has been the Phillies’ most consistent starting pitcher over the last three years. Last year, he finished third in the voting for the NL Cy Young Award, with a record of 17-6 and an ERA of 2.37. Surely Nola has been the Phillies’ most promising prospect in the latest rebuilding process.  How can the Phillies be so greedy as to let Nola slip into an embarrassing and potentially damaging process of arbitration over two million dollars?  This is especial egregious given that the Phillies May be poised to conclude long-term $300 million contracts with not one, but two free agents, neither of whom are ...

This year's off-season has been marked by big name free agent ball players remaining unsigned through the beginning of Spring Training. The situation has left some players and their agents crying foul against the owners. In addition, the union has found itself in conflict with the Commissioner over proposed rule changes allegedly intended to enhance the pace of play.  The emergence of these issues raises the question of whether a labor dispute is brewing for baseball. Starting with the issue of unsigned free agents, this is a problem with two root causes.  The first is the way baseball's economic and salary rules operate.  The second is how teams currently value players. From the point of view of the ball player, if he shows his abilities and talents on the field, he expects to be rewarded.  In particular, baseball's rules can keep a player tied to one team for up to six years after being drafted.  Initially, the player has three years to earn a spot on th...

It’s the off-season again, and we are heading into the Major League’s Winter Meetings.   Not surprisingly, there are rumblings of “tanking” being heard across the land, and proposals on how to combat this evil.   But before falling for the arguments and the proposals, consider the true source of the accusations.   Are teams really risking their box office draw by being bad?   Or is “tanking” just the latest ruse meant to benefit marginal players reaching free agency years. Free agency is a ticket many players see to greater wealth.   A player spends a few years under the control of their team.   Then, once they have a track record of being a consistent major league player, the door is open to negotiate multi-million dollar contracts.   And of course the representatives of the players, the agents who negotiate their contracts, like this arrangement, as they get a cut of their employees’ pay.   Financially, then, there is an incentive among e...