Imagine the uproar if a team decided to withhold a month’s salary from its players due to poor performance. That is exactly what happened on this day in 1900, as the St. Louis Cardinals paid only five players on its roster.
For as much power as the players have these days in the MLB, that was not always the case. Back in the early days of the league, before free agency and the challenges of the reserve clause, the teams had all of the power in the labor relations. If you did not want to play ball by their rules, you would never have another chance to appear in the Majors.
While there were a few incidents in MLB history that perfectly illustrate that dynamic, the most blatant abuse of power may have occurred on this day in 1900. The St. Louis Cardinals, disappointed with their fifth place finish and the performance of some of their players, decided to withhold their salaries for the final month of the season. Only five players were paid, with legends like John McGraw and respected players such as Wilbert Robinson, being left without a paycheck.
The rationale for such a move? Well, the team’s poor performance was obviously because the players themselves were not doing their jobs, as opposed to an actual lack of talent on the field. The Cardinals specifically mentioned late hours, gambling, and “dissipation” as the cause for their fifth place finish.
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Just imagine what would happen if a team tried to do that today. The Player’s Union would have a grievance filed against ownership before they could finish saying that the players would not be paid. The labor strife from 1994 would seem to be child’s play in comparison.
Having the Union in place may have also stopped other owners from doing the same thing. Given how volatile owners such as George Steinbrenner and Ted Turner could be, it is easy to imagine them attempting to withhold salaries because the team was not performing. Hell, Turner even managed a game, prompting a rule to keep owners from assuming the reigns of the team. Would such a move be out of character?
Even for the times, the Cardinals moving to dock an entire month’s worth of salary was bizarre. Teams faced that sort of behavior from their players more often than not back in those days, and to allow one team to keep a month’s salary set a dangerous precedent. Perhaps it is understandable why the American League was able to attract so many players that offseason.
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On this day in 1900, the St. Louis Cardinals withheld the salary of most of their players. Picture if that happened in this day and age.