Justice on Stubbs

Richard Justice's article in Tuesday's Houston Chronicle on Longhorn CF Drew Stubbs' pre-college rollercoaster ride is an interesting read. Something seemed fishy when I initially read it, and Skip Sauer at the Sports Economist picked up on that vibe as well.

I know very little about baseball's anti-trust exemption and how the collective bargaining process enables teams to elude claims of collusion, if it does, but the fact that Bud Selig allegedly has the ability to call an MLB owner like Uncle Drayton, tell him that their offer to a draftee is too high and "recommend" a more accurate offer sure makes me nauseous. I was under the impression that MLB worked under a free-market umbrella, at least in the sense that the negotiations between the teams and their draft picks were not restricted by monetary limitations arbitrarily set by the commissioner's office.

Sauer's 'cartel' analogy seems to hit home, especially when you consider that (allegedly) owners like McLane are willing to let the commish push them around (i.e. tell McLane that he's not free to pay his draft pick what he sees fit) in return for favorable future treatment. There's nothing wrong with compromise between parties, but if this is how the system works, it sheds new light on the real reason that some talented draft picks do not end up signing deals following the draft.