Most controversial scandals in MLB history: #27. Collusion
Both the owners and players in the MLB have always had a contentious relationship. Seemingly everything has to be an argument between the pair. Some of that, in part, is due to what happened in 1985.
Although they were extremely wealthy, owners weren’t too keen on spending an excessive amount of dollars on the players. In order to keep the cost down, they colluded with one another. That, in turn, set the market price for free agents and prevented players who were truly looking to cash in. No one had a leg up and players would get offered the same amount of money no matter which team they decided to go to.
For a number of years, the owners worked in the shadows as they continued to collude with one another. Completely unaware of what was taking place, the players blindly took what was offered to them. It wasn’t until 1994 that things were revealed to the players. The result of the owner’s collusion cost the players roughly $400 million over that time frame. Maybe now you’ll understand why the players have always looked at owners with a bit of a sideways glance.