About

Sources

All of the data on player statistics came from Baseball Reference, an extremely informative search engine for baseball history. The contract data were more difficult to find, and so they came from a plethora of sources. While Baseball Reference was still useful, it was missing quite a bit of information on free agent contracts. As a result, I turned to old newspaper articles from sources like The New York Times and United Press International for contract data prior to 1991. For data after 1991, Cot’s Baseball Contracts (a branch of Baseball Prospectus) was used to gather free agent data. I also credit the National Baseball Hall of Fame and the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) for a good amount of the information in this site. All these sources, among others, are listed beneath for reference.

  1. “Babe Ruth Signs a Two-Year Contract with the New York Yankees for $160,000. At $80,000 per Year, He Becomes the Highest-Paid Player of All Time.” This Day In Baseball. https://thisdayinbaseball.com/1930-babe-ruth-signs-a-two-year-contract-with-the-new-york-yankees-for-160000-at-80000-per-year-he-becomes-the-highest-paid-player-of-all-time/. Accessed 17 July 2023.
  2. Barra, Allen. “How Curt Flood Changed Baseball and Killed His Career in the Process.” The Atlantic, 12 July 2011, https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/07/how-curt-flood-changed-baseball-and-killed-his-career-in-the-process/241783/.
  3. “BASEBALL; Tettleton Gets Rangers Job.” The New York Times, 13 Apr. 1995. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/13/sports/baseball-tettleton-gets-rangers-job.html.
  4. “Big-Name Free Agents Lance Parrish and Gregg Jefferies Didn’t Work out for Phillies.” Phillies Nation. 12 Mar. 2019, https://www.philliesnation.com/2019/03/big-name-free-agents-lance-parrish-and-gregg-jefferies-didnt-work-out-for-phillies/.
  5. Blum, Ronald. “George Nicolau, Arbitrator in MLB Collusion Cases, Dies at 94.” Washington Post, 10 Jan. 2020. www.washingtonpost.com, https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/george-nicolau-arbitrator-in-mlb-collusion-cases-dies-at-94/2020/01/10/893fc130-33ee-11ea-9313-6cba89b1b9fb_story.html.
  6. “Brian Jordan Signs 5-Year Deal with Braves.” Pocono Record, https://www.poconorecord.com/story/sports/pro/1998/11/24/brian-jordan-signs-5-year/51101933007/. Accessed 19 June 2023.
  7. Brown, Jr., Thomas. Jackie Robinson in 1947: Debut with the Dodgers – Society for American Baseball Research. https://sabr.org/jackie75/dodgers/. Accessed 26 June 2023.
  8. “Cardinals Legend Stan Musial Dead at 92.” Sports Illustrated, 19 Jan. 2013, https://www.si.com/mlb/2013/01/20/obit-stan-musial.
  9. “‘Catfish’ Hunter Becomes MLB’s First Free Agent in Modern Era.” HISTORY, https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/mlb-free-agency-catfish-hunter. Accessed 29 June 2023.
  10. CBA History | Cot’s Baseball Contracts. https://legacy.baseballprospectus.com/compensation/cots/league-info/cba-history/. Accessed 26 June 2023.
  11. Chass, Murray. “7 in Baseball Collusion Case Win Free Agency.” The New York Times, 23 Jan. 1988. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/1988/01/23/sports/7-in-baseball-collusion-case-win-free-agency.html.
  12. Cialini, Joe. “Mike Schmidt, Who Has Agreed to a One-Year Contract… – UPI Archives.” UPI, https://www.upi.com/Archives/1988/12/07/Mike-Schmidt-who-has-agreed-to-a-one-year-contract/3278597474000/. Accessed 18 June 2023.
  13. Cohen, Jason. “Willie Randolph: I Love the Yankees of the ’80s.” Pinstripe Alley, 6 June 2013, https://www.pinstripealley.com/2013/6/6/4392570/willie-randolph-yankees-second-baseman.
  14. Dodge, Krystle. “Baseball Inflation: A 500-Fold Increase in MLB Salaries.” Expensivity, 27 Apr. 2022, https://www.expensivity.com/baseball-inflation-huge-increase-mlb-salaries/.
  15. “DSSRF Data.” Google Docs, https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13AHVIq648gE0X1MjoYv9h7txlhizwcIMJGo16Nmd1CA/edit?pli=1&usp=embed_facebook. Accessed 21 June 2023.
  16. Dunbar, Justin. “Study: What Metrics Best Dictate an MLB Player’s Defensive Ability?” MVP Sports Talk, 19 May 2020, https://mvpsportstalk.com/2020/05/19/study-what-metrics-best-dictate-an-mlb-players-defensive-ability/.
  17. Edmonds, Edmund P. MLB Minimum and Average Salaries 1967-2012.
  18. ESPN.Com: MLB – Mets Sign Free Agent Todd Zeile to Three-Year Contract. http://assets.espn.go.com/mlb/news/1999/1211/229267.html. Accessed 19 June 2023.
  19. “Free Agent Contracts.” The Oklahoman, https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/1988/12/18/free-agent-contracts/62629628007/. Accessed 18 June 2023.
  20. Friedman, Morgan. The Inflation Calculator. https://westegg.com/inflation/infl.cgi?money=5000&first=1947&final=2022. Accessed 10 July 2023.
  21. Gallagher, Mickey. “From the Red Side of the Field: The American Baseball Guild.” Seattle Democratic Socialists of America, 17 July 2019, https://seattledsa.org/2019/07/from-the-red-side-of-the-field-the-american-baseball-guild/.
  22. Godar, Ben. “Darrell Porter: The St. Louis Cardinals’ First Free Agent.” Viva El Birdos, 19 Dec. 2014, https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/2014/12/19/7332747/the-cardinals-first-free-agent-darrell-porter.
  23. Green, Marilyn. “History of Labor Struggles in MLB: The Rise of the AL and Road to Antitrust Exemption.” The Cardinal Nation, 3 Jan. 2022, https://thecardinalnation.com/history-of-labor-struggles-in-mlb-the-rise-of-the-al-and-road-to-antitrust-exemption/.
  24. Hasskamp, Luke. “Baseball and the Antitrust Laws Part I: The Origins of the Reserve Clause.” The Antitrust Attorney Blog, 4 Oct. 2019, https://www.theantitrustattorney.com/baseball-and-the-antitrust-laws-part-i-the-origins-of-the-reserve-clause/.
  25. Hayes, Tony. “He Was a Giant? Reggie Smith By Tony the Tiger Hayes.” Sports Radio Service, 3 Aug. 2022, https://sportsradioservice2013.wordpress.com/2022/08/02/he-was-a-giant-reggie-smith-by-tony-the-tiger-hayes/.
  26. Heuer, Ben. The Boys of Winter: How Marvin Miller, Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally Brought Down Baseball’s Historic Reserve System.
  27. Haupert, Michael. Marvin Miller and the Birth of the MLBPA – Society for American Baseball Research. https://sabr.org/journal/article/marvin-miller-and-the-birth-of-the-mlbpa/. Accessed 26 June 2023.
  28. Haupert, Michael. MLB’s Annual Salary Leaders since 1874 – Society for American Baseball Research. https://sabr.org/research/article/mlbs-annual-salary-leaders-since-1874/. Accessed 7 July 2023.
  29. Iannello, Joe. “Philadelphia Phillies: The 5 Worst Free-Agent Signings in Franchise History.” Bleacher Report, https://bleacherreport.com/articles/724009-philadelphia-phillies-the-5-worst-free-agent-signings-in-franchise-history. Accessed 19 June 2023.
  30. Koszarek, Ed. The Players League: History, Clubs, Ballplayers and Statistics. McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers, 2006. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/bucknell/detail.action?docID=1832149.
  31. Levitt, Dan. “Collusion and Tim Raines.” In Pursuit of Pennants, 26 Feb. 2018, https://pursuitofpennants.wordpress.com/2018/02/26/collusion-and-tim-raines/.
  32. Maske, Mark, and Alison Muscatine. “GIANTS, BONDS SIGN DEAL.” Washington Post, 9 Dec. 1992. www.washingtonpost.com, https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1992/12/09/giants-bonds-sign-deal/e8995934-48fb-4368-9289-af969e42bb65/.
  33. “Median Household Income by Race U.S. 1967-2021.” Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1086359/median-household-income-race-us/. Accessed 7 July 2023.
  34. “MLB.” Spotrac.Com, https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/tools/offseason/. Accessed 7 July 2023.
  35. MLB.Com | The Official Site of Major League Baseball. https://www.mlb.com/. Accessed 18 July 2023.
  36. “MLB Stats, Scores, History, & Records.” Baseball-Reference.Com, https://www.baseball-reference.com/. Accessed 17 July 2023.
  37. “MLB-Free Agency 1991-2023.Xls.” Google Docs, https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1bXUPBabVf82y0m2KaZ0F9Fno9xwZ2pmepbFvMBX_TEM/edit?usp=embed_facebook. Accessed 21 June 2023.
  38. Mooney, Jameus. “Rich Gossage’s 1977 Contract Revisited.” Pro Sports Extra |, 23 Nov. 2020, https://www.prosportsextra.com/rich-gossages-1977-contract-revisited/.
  39. Muder, Craig. #CardCorner: 1976 Topps Ron LeFlore | Baseball Hall of Fame. https://baseballhall.org/discover/CardCorner/1976-Topps-Ron-LeFlore. Accessed 15 June 2023.
  40. Muder, Craig. Gossage’s Signing Pushed Padres over the Top | Baseball Hall of Fame. https://baseballhall.org/discover/inside-pitch/gossage-signing-pushes-padres-over-the-top. Accessed 15 June 2023.
  41. Reuter, Joel. “Looking Back at the Greatest Free-Agent Classes in MLB History.” Bleacher Report, https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2924576-looking-back-at-the-greatest-free-agent-classes-in-mlb-history. Accessed 31 May 2023.
  42. Roger Abrams. Arbitrator Seitz Sets the Players Free – Society for American Baseball Research. https://sabr.org/journal/article/arbitrator-seitz-sets-the-players-free/. Accessed 27 June 2023.
  43. Sharma, Sahadev. “Willson Contreras Did a Better Job Framing Pitches in September, but Can That Carry over to 2020?” The Athletic, https://theathletic.com/1278623/2019/10/09/willson-contreras-did-a-better-job-framing-pitches-in-september-but-can-that-carry-over-to-2020/. Accessed 17 July 2023.
  44. Siegler, Joe. Aaron Sele Signs with Mariners — Rangerfans.Com. https://www.rangerfans.com/2000/01/aaron-sele-signs-with-mariners/. Accessed 20 June 2023.
  45. Spitz, Bob. “IS COLLUSION THE NAME OF THE GAME?” The New York Times, 12 July 1987. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/1987/07/12/magazine/is-collusion-the-name-of-the-game.html.
  46. “Statcast | Glossary.” MLB.Com, https://www.mlb.com/glossary/statcast. Accessed 13 July 2023.
  47. Stoeten, Andrew. “Unique Deals Ending in Disappointment: 2 Jays Free-Agent Reunions Gone Wrong.” The Athletic, https://theathletic.com/1881153/2020/06/19/unique-deals-ending-in-disappointment-two-jays-free-agent-reunions-gone-wrong/. Accessed 4 June 2023.
  48. Terry Sloope. Curt Flood – Society for American Baseball Research. https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/curt-flood/. Accessed 27 June 2023.
  49. “The Houston Astros Have Come to Terms with Free… – UPI Archives.” UPI, https://www.upi.com/Archives/1988/12/21/The-Houston-Astros-have-come-to-terms-with-free/5870598683600/. Accessed 18 June 2023.
  50. Thornley, Stew. Demise of the Reserve Clause. https://milkeespress.com/reserveclause.html. Accessed 28 June 2023.
  51. Tosches, Rich. “Rod Carew, Whose Test of the Free Agent Market… – UPI Archives.” UPI, https://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/11/23/Rod-Carew-whose-test-of-the-free-agent-market/2453438411600/. Accessed 15 June 2023.
  52. “Zimmer and The Players Protective Association.” Baseball History Daily, 21 Dec. 2012, https://baseballhistorydaily.com/2012/12/21/zimmer-and-the-players-protective-association/.