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drafting from different countries
The Dominican Republic has the most players from any other country in the Major Leagues. Most of the players are coming from poverty, so the professional baseball player's life seems very appealing to young athletes in the Dominican Republic. The MLBs form leagues, drafts and recruits players to their minor league team. Once they are on that team, the player has to work their up through the system (A,AA,AAA) to be able to get called up to the majors. These players are brought into a different way of life, with minimal English. The team they are in basically controls them. How much they get paid, if they move up in the league or not, and where they live [2].
Exercising freedom from a position of power
Curt Flood was a center fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals who was later traded to the Philadelphia Phillies. During this time, the Reserve Clause was a common practice. This clause stated that players were to be held on a team until the expiration of the contract. This withheld the player's ability to be traded unless for another player or cash where the same conditions were expected of the players by the new team. Curt stated "After twelve years in the major leagues, I do not feel I am a piece of property to be bought and sold irrespective of my wishes." However, when accepting his initial contract, he knew that trading would be an expected aspect as did the other players of the time. He acknowledged that he was very well compensated, but he further went on to refuse the trade by using his platform as a way to talk about how there is still a way to withhold his positive freedom [1].
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Citations
Written Text :
[1] Khan, Abraham Iqbal. Curt Flood in the Media: Baseball, Race, and the Demise of the Activist-Athlete. University Press of Mississippi, 2013.
[2] Lagesse, David. “Baseball Is A Field Of Dreams - And Dashed Hopes - For Dominicans.” NPR. NPR, April 3, 2016. https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/04/03/472699693/baseball-is-a-field-of-dreams-and-dashed-hopes-for-dominicans.
Images :
Curt Flood 58-69. From St. Louis Cardinals. Public Domain.
[1] Khan, Abraham Iqbal. Curt Flood in the Media: Baseball, Race, and the Demise of the Activist-Athlete. University Press of Mississippi, 2013.
[2] Lagesse, David. “Baseball Is A Field Of Dreams - And Dashed Hopes - For Dominicans.” NPR. NPR, April 3, 2016. https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/04/03/472699693/baseball-is-a-field-of-dreams-and-dashed-hopes-for-dominicans.
Images :
Curt Flood 58-69. From St. Louis Cardinals. Public Domain.