Before getting into details about my experiences with Major League Baseball it is important to note the absolute power over teams and individual players held by the Commissioner of Baseball.  When I signed in 1998 Bud Selig was the Commissioner and he remains the Commissioner to this day.  Major League Baseball has the unique distinction of having an antitrust exemption granted by Congress.  Antitrust laws are intended to encourage competition in the marketplace.  These laws make illegal certain practices deemed to hurt businesses or consumers or both, or generally to violate standards of ethical behavior.  With an antitrust law exemption in hand, Major League Baseball is not bound by ethical standards of behavior and, in fact, is a monopoly free to do what it wants without fear of penalties for what in other industries would be classified as unlawful behavior.

The Commissioner of Baseball holds virtually unlimited power of his office to act “for the good of baseball.”   This includes the ability force owners of baseball clubs to sell their team, approve or disapprove trades, and determine sanctions.  In later comments I will identify how my signing and ultimate career in baseball was negatively affected by the power held by the Commissioner.

One instructive exercise of this power is the unfair establishment of “slotted bonuses.”  In 1998 I was offered a contract by the Chicago Cubs worth $765,000 which included $80,000 for college expenses.  The amount seemed fair as this was the typical signing bonus for a low first-round draft pick.  This was, and still is, the highest signing bonus ever paid to a 47^th round draft pick. Low round draft picks are called “draft and follow” players as Major League Baseball clubs want to own the rights to a player but would like to see how they progress in college prior to signing them.  This is a form of gambling on the part of the clubs as they get the chance to see the progress of a player without the cost of developing the player.  Some of these draft and follow picks will develop spectacularly as they receive better coaching and are surrounded by better players or will fade as their talents fail to progress. 

The year after I signed (1999) my father received a call from an advisor (agent) of a draft and follow player who asked what I received as a signing bonus.  The advisor told my father the player had similar statistics to mine, had the same body type, and was selected in a low round of the draft the previous year.  He said his client was being offered $500,000 by the Montreal Expos to sign and he wanted to get the player “Matt Money.”  Therefore, the player refused the $500,000 and went into the 1999 First-Year Player Draft conducted by Major League Baseball.  As punishment for wanting a fair signing bonus the player was not drafted by any team until the 10^th round.  So how does a player go from being worth at least $500,000 to only $20,000-$50,000 in the course of several days?  Is this yet another example of collusion among teams ordered by the commissioner?  How does a player who was worth the equivalent of a second round pick drop to the 10^th round so quickly?  Is the player being punished to send a message to other players to take what is offered by Major League Baseball and shut up?  Was my treatment by the Chicago Cubs and Major League Baseball intended to send a message to baseball clubs, agents, and players to accept whatever is offered and not negotiate?  Why else would I be singled out when all I did was accept what the Chicago Cubs offered and was never advised there was apparently a $500,000 maximum for signing bonuses to draft and follow players?

Major League Baseball came up with a unique solution allowed by their antitrust exemption.  In 2000, just in time for the 2000 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball implemented the aforementioned “Slotted Bonuses” system.  This draft system means no player drafted in a lower “slot” or after another player may receive a higher bonus than the player selected prior to his “slot” in the draft.  There are instances of players receiving a higher signing bonus than the player drafted before they were, but this is rare and requires approval by the Commissioner of Baseball.  The institution of slotted bonuses has undoubtedly saved Major League Baseball clubs millions of dollars by severely limiting the flexibility of players to negotiate their own contracts.  This is money which is taken directly out of signing bonuses of deserving players and put in the pockets of Major League Baseball clubs.

Another interesting aspect of the First-Year Player Draft is that it only applies to American baseball players.  Foreign baseball players are not included in the draft and Major League Baseball clubs may pay signing bonuses of any amount since they are not bound by slotted bonus limitations.  Therefore, the draft system is blatantly unfair to American baseball players and further reflects the concentrated power of the Commissioner of Baseball.

As I mentioned above, the Commissioner of Baseball has tremendous power to take actions for the “good of baseball.”  Using this power the Commissioner is able to help a former player, who unnecessarily experienced the wrath of Major League Baseball simply by signing a contract with a fair bonus, and help the player provide assistance to children with sensory disorders.  This assistance could take many forms such as not blocking publicity efforts, using his office to garner national publicity, or provide other means of support.  This would certainly be an appropriate and positive exercise of his power as Commissioner of Baseball.

More to come...