Curt Flood deserves to be in baseball’s Hall of Fame.
The day was December 18th, 2019. Gerrit Cole was being introduced to the New York Yankees media after signing a nine-year $324 million contract. During the press conference, Cole went to the podium and addressed the reporters, thanking Marvin Miller and Curt Flood personally for what they enabled.
For those of you who don’t know, Miller and Flood are the reason we have free agency in sports today. Here’s the backstory.
On October 7th, 1969, Flood was traded along with three other players by the St. Louis Cardinals to the Philadelphia Phillies. He had played 12 seasons with the Cardinals and was a three-time All-Star and seven-time Gold Glove award-winner. He also led the Cardinals to three World Series appearances and two World Series titles.
Suddenly, his life was altered. Flood wasn’t prepared to leave St. Louis. He had a home there and a photography business, too. But he didn’t have a choice. Major League Baseball had what was called ‘The Reserve Clause,’ which allowed a team to own a player’s rights for life–unless that player was traded to another team. Technically, The Reserve Clause made baseball players team property.
Curt Flood with Marvin Miller (Photo courtesy of historyrat.wordpress.com
After months of contemplating what steps to take, Flood hired Miller, who was the player’s union’s head. On January 16th, 1970, they filed a lawsuit against MLB commissioner Bowie Kuhn. The Supreme Court eventually heard the suit, and although Flood did not win the lawsuit, his action (with Miller’s) paved the path for athletes in all sports to get paid the salaries the market would bear. No longer were they the property of a single club. Their value was pegged to their play.
Now, let’s fast-forward to today. In December of 2019, Marvin Miller was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Modern Baseball Era Committee. It was a stunning (but positive) reversal of the outcome from the previous seventeen years.
His induction was well-deserved. But, sadly, Miller couldn’t witness his induction because he had passed in 2012.
The question now is: Why not Curt Flood, too? He’s the player who sacrifices his playing career and future potential earnings. Flood should be in the Hall of Fame, too!
Just like Jackie Robinson before him, Flood had a huge social impact on the game. Flood had solid stats, too, including a .293 batting average, nearly 2000 hits, and an OPS of nearly .732 in 6400 at-bats.
In 2021, Flood has a chance–via the Veteran’s Committee–to be voted into the Hall of Fame. If he isn’t voted in then, he’ll have to wait another five years before he’s eligible again. And even if he is inducted, then just like Miller, Curt Flood won’t be there to experience it. Flood passed away over 20 years ago.
Join me and other baseball fans in urging the Committee to do the right thing: induct Curt Flood in Baseball’s Hall of Fame!
