Dick Moss, who earned the belief of highly effective union chief Marvin Miller once they represented the United Steelworkers of America, after which proved that belief was well-placed by successful the arbitration case that created free company for Main League Baseball gamers virtually 50 years in the past, has died. He was 93.
The 1975 case concerned Dodgers pitcher Andy Messersmith and prompted arbitrator Peter Seitz to strike down the reserve clause, the restrictive contract language that had stored gamers beneath perpetual crew management for practically 100 years. Seitz was swayed by the arguments of Moss and narrowed the definition of the clause, figuring out it meant solely a one-year renewal, a call that led to collectively bargained free company.
Baseball appealed the ruling, but it surely was upheld in federal courtroom in 1976 with Moss arguing for the gamers. Later that yr, free-agency guidelines have been the inspiration of a collective bargaining settlement between MLB and the gamers’ union.
“The distinction between successful and dropping may be acknowledged in billions and billions of {dollars},” Moss stated at a celebration at his Pacific Palisades residence to have fun the twenty fifth anniversary of the ruling. “I don’t assume you’ll find one other labor-arbitration case that may say that.”
Moss died Saturday at an assisted-living facility in Santa Monica, in accordance with his niece, Nina Wiener. Though he was born and raised close to Pittsburgh, he spent a lot of his grownup life within the Los Angeles space.
Richard Myron Moss was born on July 30, 1931, to Nathan and Celia (Rosenblatt) Moss. He earned a bachelor’s diploma from the College of Pittsburgh in 1952 and a legislation diploma from Harvard in 1955 earlier than serving within the Military for 2 years.
He labored for the Pennsylvania state authorities earlier than catching on with the steelworkers union in 1960, the place he met Miller, who would grow to be his mentor. Six years later, Miller grew to become the primary govt director of the MLB Gamers Assn. and he introduced Moss with him.
The 2 attorneys quickly started educating gamers on union methods. They hammered out baseball’s first collective-bargaining settlement in 1968 and had negotiated an arbitration system by 1970.
“Working in tandem was precisely what constructed the stable basis,” former pitcher Steve Rogers, a Moss consumer and longtime union official, advised the Related Press. “None of what’s occurring right this moment exists with out the stable basis.”
Moss grew to become acquainted with outfielder Curt Flood, who challenged the reserve clause in federal courtroom after refusing to report back to the Philadelphia Phillies when the St. Louis Cardinals traded him in 1969. Though Flood misplaced his case on the U.S. Supreme Courtroom, the inherent unfairness of gamers being prevented from signing with the best bidder grew to become obvious.
The New York Yankees emerged because the franchise most keen to pay gamers beforehand unheard-of salaries, inadvertently serving to the efforts of Miller and Moss.
First got here the case of pitcher Catfish Hunter, whom the Yankees signed to a five-year, $3.25-million deal in 1974 after Moss asserted that Hunter’s current one-year, $100,000 contract with the Oakland Athletics was invalid due to a dispute over a deferred insurance coverage annuity. Moss pointed to Hunter’s Yankees contract as proof that in an open market gamers would make way over they did with the reserve clause in impact.
Then got here the circumstances of pitchers Messersmith and Dave McNally, who refused to signal what they deemed substandard contracts for the 1975 season.
Their groups responded by renewing their offers on the 1974 phrases, which in Messersmith’s case was for $90,000 and exceedingly unfair. The fitting-hander had led the Dodgers to the 1974 World Sequence and completed second in Nationwide League Cy Younger Award voting after main the league with 20 wins whereas posting an earned-run common of two.59 over 292 innings.
Taking part in with no signed contract in 1975, Messersmith had one other excellent season, main the NL with 19 full video games, seven shutouts and 321 innings whereas posting a 19-14 report and a couple of.29 ERA.
Moss represented Messersmith and McNally — who additionally had pitched with no contract in 1975 — in asserting {that a} participant ought to grow to be a free agent one yr after the expiration of his contract. After this so-called “choice yr,” Moss argued, a participant needs to be allowed to hawk his providers to the best bidder.
Moss argued the case to Seitz, who dominated that groups had “no proper or energy” to retain the providers of Messersmith and McNally past the renewal yr that had already been fulfilled. The ruling was upheld by the U.S. Courtroom of Appeals and free-agency guidelines have been launched in a collective-bargaining settlement in 1976.
A yr later, Moss left the union to grow to be an agent, and he ultimately represented Dodgers pitching phenom Fernando Valenzuela in addition to future Corridor of Famers Nolan Ryan, Gary Carter and Jack Morris.
After Ryan’s three-year, $600,000 contract with the Angels expired after the 1979 season, Moss negotiated a four-year, $4.5-million cope with the Houston Astros, making Ryan the primary MLB participant to be paid 1,000,000 a yr. Moss additionally argued the circumstances with the Dodgers that acquired Valenzuela the primary $1-million wage via arbitration in 1983 and made him baseball’s highest-paid pitcher with a three-year, $5.5-million deal by avoiding arbitration in 1986.
For all of the impression Moss made in enabling ballplayers to grow to be free brokers and take a look at the market, members of the family stated he was equally happy with his contributions to labor legislation outdoors of sports activities. Moss served on the board of a chapter of the NAACP and had philanthropic pursuits.
Moss is survived by his third spouse, Carol Freis, whom he married in 1980, and a daughter from his second marriage, Nancy Moss Ephron. One other daughter from his second marriage, Betsy, predeceased him.
The Related Press contributed to this report.
