Each year after the completion of the World Series and for the next 15 days players who are eligible for free agency may file with the commissioner’s office. During those 15 days they may only negotiate with their 2007 teams. After the 15 days they can negotiate with any major league ball club.
Free agency came about on December 23, 1975 when pitchers Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally successfully challenged the reserve clause (Section 10A) in all MLB contracts.
In a 64-page ruling, arbitrator Peter Seitz ruled that “There is no contractual bond between these players and the Los Angeles and Montreal clubs, respectively.”
The players became free agents. After making the ruling, Seitz was immediately fired by the owners as baseball’s arbitrator.
Technically, Jim “Catfish” Hunter was the first free agent when after the 1974 season he was declared eligible to sign with any team when Oakland owner Charlie Finley failed to pay a $50,000 insurance annuity as called for in Hunter’s contract with the A’s. He then signed a 5-year contract worth $3.35 million dollars. His salary jumped from $100,000 in 1974 to nearly $700,000 in 1975.
Baseball’s first great free agent class came after the 1976 when 22 players filed. It included Baltimore teammates Reggie Jackson and Bobby Grich, Oakland’s Joe Rudi, Rollie Fingers and Don Baylor, Cincinnati’s Don Gullett and San Francisco’s Gary Matthews.
Today, each season around 150 players, file for free agency. We will surely see the same faces in new places in 2008 but who, where, for how long and how much are the questions that are yet to be answered.
Obviously some of these players may re-up with their 2007 clubs but these are possibly some of the top names to be in a new place in 2008:
1B – Kevin Millar, Sean Casey, Shea Hillenbrand
2B – Luis Castillo, Tadahito Iguchi, Marcus Giles, Jeff Kent
SS- David Eckstein, Omar Vizquel, John McDonald
3B – Aaron Boone, Mike Lowell, Alex Rodriguez
LF – Barry Bonds, Ryan Klesko, Luis Gonzalez
CF – Aaron Rowand, Corey Patterson, Andruw Jones, Torii Hunter, Mike Cameron
RF – Bobby Abreau, Jose Guillen, Milton Bradley, Sammy Sosa, Moises Alou
C – Paul LoDuca, Ivan Rodriguez, Jorge Posada,
DH – Mike Piazza, Mike Sweeney
LHSP – Tom Glavine, Andy Pettitte, Kenny Rogers
RHSP – Roger Clemens, Bartolo Colon, Curt Schilling, Freddy Garcia
LHRP – Joe Beimel, Mike Myers, Ron Villone
RHRP – Joe Borowski, Francisco Cordero, Scott Linebrink, Eric Gagne`
You can see the complete list of free agents alphabetically or search by position or team.
Every player on that list wants this:
To get paid the big bucks.
