Baseball has held a unique exemption from antitrust laws in accordance with the interpretation of the Supreme Court in Federal Baseball Club of Baltimore, Inc. v. National League of Professional Baseball Clubs (1922). The Court held that antitrust laws do not apply to professional baseball. Professional baseball had a reserve system in which once a player signed with a team, he became the property of that team only until he retired from the team or the team no longer wanted him. Major League Baseball (MLB) has had eight work stoppages since 1972, with player strikes or owner lockouts causing the cancellation or postponement of games in 1972, 1981, 1985, and 1994, as well as spring training cancellation in 1990. The MLBPA was formed in 1954, and MLB had its first collective bargaining agreement in 1968. To date, the baseball players association has won virtually all of the labor disputes. This accounts for baseball players having the highest salaries among the four major sports.
Once again the lawyers will be cleaning up