1981 baseball strike
Encyclopedia
The 1981
Major League Baseball
strike
was the fifth work stoppage in Major League Baseball
since the 1972 Major League Baseball strike. The strike
began on June 12 and forced the cancellation of 713 games (or 38 percent of the Major League schedule) in the middle of the regular season.
An estimated $
146 million was lost in player salaries, ticket sales, broadcast revenues, and concession revenues. The players lost $4 million a week in salaries while the owners suffered a total loss of $72 million.
voted unanimously to strike on May 29 due to the unresolved issue of free agent compensation. The deadline was extended briefly, however, after the Players' Association's unfair labor complaint was heard by the National Labor Relations Board
.
draft. At issue during the seven week long negotiations was the owners demanding compensation for losing a free agent player to another team. The compensation in question was a player who was selected from the signing team's roster (not including 12 "protected" players). The players maintained that any form of compensation would undermine the value of free agency.
reflected this particular opinion with the cover headline "Strike! The Walkout the Owners Provoked." One of the reasons the owners doled out such hefty contracts from 1978
-1981
(43 players each negotiated contracts worth over $1 million during this period) was because they were afraid of losing disgruntled stars in the free agency reentry draft. So the owners paid their players the so-called new going rate in order to keep them from going elsewhere.
Reportedly, the negotiations were so bitter that when a settlement was finally reached, Players Association representative Marvin Miller
and the owners' negotiator Ray Grebey refused to pose with each other for the traditional "peace ceremony" photograph.
in Cleveland
's Municipal Stadium
. The All-Star Game, which was originally scheduled to be held on July 14, now served as a prelude to play resuming on August 10.
When play resumed, attendance dropped in 17 of 24 cities and television ratings
slumped sharply. Despite the disgruntled fans, the All-Star Game, which was played on a Sunday instead of the usual Tuesday, had the largest crowd ever in attendance (72,086).
team if the same club won both halves) meeting in a best-of-five divisional playoff series. The four survivors would then move on to the two best-of-five League Championship Series
. It was the first time that Major League Baseball used a split-season format since 1892
.
) seemed to cheapen the results of the regular season. As first proposed, if a team won its division in both halves of the season, then it would play the team with the second best record overall (first and second half). A sportswriter pointed out that the arrangement would give a team with a good overall record an incentive to lose games against the first-half winner to help a division rival win both halves. On August 20, Major League Baseball revised the rules so that if a team won both halves of the season, it would face the second season runner-up instead.
Facing a playoff no matter their finish in the second half, the first-half winners lacked incentive (as opposed to the minor leagues
, where if the same team did win both halves it was given a bye into the next round) to repeat, and finished the second-half of the season with a composite record of only three games above .500. To make matters worse, the Cincinnati Reds
(National League West
) and St. Louis Cardinals
(National League East
) each failed to make the playoffs. This was despite the fact that they had the two best full-season records in the National League that season (and thus would've won their divisions under normal circumstances). In contrast to the Reds' and Cardinals' bad luck, the Kansas City Royals
made the postseason despite owning the fourth-best full-season record in their division and posting a losing record overall (50-53).
The Pittsburgh Pirates
ended up playing the fewest games of any team at 102. Meanwhile, the San Francisco Giants
played the most at 111. Most teams finished with anywhere between 106 and 109 games.
1981 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers over New York Yankees ; Ron Cey, Pedro Guerrero, and Steve Yeager, co-MVPsNOTE: Due to a strike in mid-season, the season was divided into a first half and a second half...
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
strike
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
was the fifth work stoppage in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
since the 1972 Major League Baseball strike. The strike
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
began on June 12 and forced the cancellation of 713 games (or 38 percent of the Major League schedule) in the middle of the regular season.
An estimated $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
146 million was lost in player salaries, ticket sales, broadcast revenues, and concession revenues. The players lost $4 million a week in salaries while the owners suffered a total loss of $72 million.
The strike deadline
The Executive Board of the Major League Baseball Players AssociationMajor League Baseball Players Association
The Major League Baseball Players Association is the union of professional major-league baseball players.-History of MLBPA:The MLBPA was not the first attempt to unionize baseball players...
voted unanimously to strike on May 29 due to the unresolved issue of free agent compensation. The deadline was extended briefly, however, after the Players' Association's unfair labor complaint was heard by the National Labor Relations Board
National Labor Relations Board
The National Labor Relations Board is an independent agency of the United States government charged with conducting elections for labor union representation and with investigating and remedying unfair labor practices. Unfair labor practices may involve union-related situations or instances of...
.
Reasons for the strike
The strike was called in response to the owners desperately wanting to win back the prerogatives over the players. The owners had already lost at the bargaining table and in the courts on the issue of the free agencyFree agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
draft. At issue during the seven week long negotiations was the owners demanding compensation for losing a free agent player to another team. The compensation in question was a player who was selected from the signing team's roster (not including 12 "protected" players). The players maintained that any form of compensation would undermine the value of free agency.
Reaction
Although the strike was called by the players, many sportswriters and even fans placed most of the blame on the owners. Sports IllustratedSports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
reflected this particular opinion with the cover headline "Strike! The Walkout the Owners Provoked." One of the reasons the owners doled out such hefty contracts from 1978
1978 in baseball
-Other champions:*Caribbean World Series: Indios de Mayagüez *College World Series: USC*Japan Series: Yakult Swallows over Hankyu Braves *Little League World Series: Pin-Kuang, Pin-Tung, Taiwan-Awards and honors:*Most Valuable Player...
-1981
1981 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers over New York Yankees ; Ron Cey, Pedro Guerrero, and Steve Yeager, co-MVPsNOTE: Due to a strike in mid-season, the season was divided into a first half and a second half...
(43 players each negotiated contracts worth over $1 million during this period) was because they were afraid of losing disgruntled stars in the free agency reentry draft. So the owners paid their players the so-called new going rate in order to keep them from going elsewhere.
The strike ends
On July 31, 1981, a compromise was reached. In the settlement, teams that lost a "premium" free agent could be compensated by drawing from a pool of players left unprotected from all of the clubs rather than just the signing club. Players agree to restricting free agency to players with six or more years of major league service. The settlement gave the owners a limited victory on the compensation issue.Reportedly, the negotiations were so bitter that when a settlement was finally reached, Players Association representative Marvin Miller
Marvin Miller
Marvin Julian Miller is a former executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association , from 1966 to 1982. Under Miller's direction, the players' union was transformed into one of the strongest unions in the United States...
and the owners' negotiator Ray Grebey refused to pose with each other for the traditional "peace ceremony" photograph.
The All-Star Game
Major League Baseball resumed on August 9 with the All-Star Game1981 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 1981 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 52nd playing of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League and National League , the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on August 9, 1981, at Cleveland Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio, the home of...
in Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
's Municipal Stadium
Cleveland Stadium
Cleveland Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, located in Cleveland, Ohio. In its final years, the stadium seated 74,438, for baseball and 81,000, for football. It was one of the early multi-purpose stadiums, built to accommodate both baseball and football...
. The All-Star Game, which was originally scheduled to be held on July 14, now served as a prelude to play resuming on August 10.
When play resumed, attendance dropped in 17 of 24 cities and television ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
slumped sharply. Despite the disgruntled fans, the All-Star Game, which was played on a Sunday instead of the usual Tuesday, had the largest crowd ever in attendance (72,086).
The split-season format
Due to the two-month strike, the owners tried to create an equitable solution. So on August 6, the owners decided to split the 1981 season into two halves, with the first-place teams from each half in each division (or a wild cardMajor League Baseball Wild Card
In Major League Baseball, the wild-card playoff spot is given to the team in each league with the best record among the non-division winners. It was established for Major League Baseball's playoffs in 1994 with the intention of helping the best teams that did not win their division to still have a...
team if the same club won both halves) meeting in a best-of-five divisional playoff series. The four survivors would then move on to the two best-of-five League Championship Series
League Championship Series
The League Championship Series is the official name for a round of postseason play in Major League Baseball which has been conducted since 1969...
. It was the first time that Major League Baseball used a split-season format since 1892
1892 in baseball
-Champions:*National League: Boston Beaneaters defeated Cleveland Spiders, 5 games to 0 - First half of season :-Second half of season:-Overall record:-Events:...
.
Flaws
The split-season idea as put into practice (although garnering the league more playoff revenueRevenue
In business, revenue is income that a company receives from its normal business activities, usually from the sale of goods and services to customers. In many countries, such as the United Kingdom, revenue is referred to as turnover....
) seemed to cheapen the results of the regular season. As first proposed, if a team won its division in both halves of the season, then it would play the team with the second best record overall (first and second half). A sportswriter pointed out that the arrangement would give a team with a good overall record an incentive to lose games against the first-half winner to help a division rival win both halves. On August 20, Major League Baseball revised the rules so that if a team won both halves of the season, it would face the second season runner-up instead.
Facing a playoff no matter their finish in the second half, the first-half winners lacked incentive (as opposed to the minor leagues
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
, where if the same team did win both halves it was given a bye into the next round) to repeat, and finished the second-half of the season with a composite record of only three games above .500. To make matters worse, the Cincinnati Reds
1981 Cincinnati Reds season
The Cincinnati Reds' 1981 season consisted of the Reds finishing with an overall record of 66-42 the National League West, putting them in first place. However, due to a split-season format, caused by a mid-season players' strike, they failed to make the MLB Playoffs that year...
(National League West
National League West
The National League Western Division, or NL West, is one of the three divisions of Major League Baseball's National League. It was created in 1969 when the previously undivided National League expanded its membership to twelve teams, positioning half of them in an Eastern division and the other...
) and St. Louis Cardinals
1981 St. Louis Cardinals season
The St. Louis Cardinals 1981 season was the team's 100th season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 90th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 59-43 during the season and finished second in the National League East in the first and second halves of the season...
(National League East
National League East
The National League East Division is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. The Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies are tied for the most National League East Division titles . All of Atlanta's NL East titles came during a record stretch of 14 consecutive division titles...
) each failed to make the playoffs. This was despite the fact that they had the two best full-season records in the National League that season (and thus would've won their divisions under normal circumstances). In contrast to the Reds' and Cardinals' bad luck, the Kansas City Royals
1981 Kansas City Royals season
The Kansas City Royals season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Royals finishing 4th in the American League West with a record of 50 wins and 53 losses...
made the postseason despite owning the fourth-best full-season record in their division and posting a losing record overall (50-53).
The Pittsburgh Pirates
1981 Pittsburgh Pirates season
The Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 100th in franchise history.- Offseason :* December 9, 1980: Bert Blyleven and Manny Sanguillén were traded by the Pirates to the Cleveland Indians for Gary Alexander, Víctor Cruz, Rafael Vásquez, and Bob Owchinko....
ended up playing the fewest games of any team at 102. Meanwhile, the San Francisco Giants
1981 San Francisco Giants season
The 1981 season was the 99th season in Giants history. Giants manager Frank Robinson became the first black manager in the history of the National League...
played the most at 111. Most teams finished with anywhere between 106 and 109 games.
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