Bonds' Saga Continues & Its Larger Impact on MLB

Barry Bonds. Ahhh yes, Barry Bonds. I remember him. Do you? For most, (but not me and most San Franciscans) Bonds’ absence from the game is warmly welcomed. Sure, Bonds was a lightning rod in the game and he was less than welcoming to reporters. But regardless, weren’t people surprised, if not put off, by the refusal of any team to even consider signing him? After all, he most likely would have proven to be a more than serviceable DH in the AL, if not the best.

Since Bonds’ agent Jeff Borris ceased efforts to find a suitor around the All-Star Break, the MLB Players Association has been investigating the league’s treatment of Bonds as a free agent. Just yesterday, the MLBPA said that it has found evidence that teams and their owners colluded against Bonds to prevent him from being signed. However, the player’s union struck an agreement with the Bud Selig’s office to delay the filing of any grievances.

Bonds, MLB’s home run king, has found no interested teams since becoming a free agent following the close of the 2007 season despite his interest to continue playing. Michael Weiner, the General Counsel for the MLBPA, said that their investigation found numerous signs that teams had acted in concert. But his public statements have remained fairly ambiguous due to the possibility of his needing to testify should the issue enter into arbitration.

“Our investigation revealed a violation of the Basic Agreement. It’s a violation of the Basic Agreement related to Barry Bonds and free agency,” Weiner said. The supposed violation would be a breach of Article XX (e) of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Specifically, “Players shall not act in concert with other players and clubs shall not act in concert with other clubs.”

Should this case go to arbitration, and should it find any collusion, the MLBPA and Bonds could be entitled to a hefty settlement. Indeed, Bonds’ situation has historical precedent. The MLBPA won similar cases back in the late 1980’s that resulted in Owner’s Management agreeing to a $280 million payment and that future acts would result in triple damages.

But the larger issue here is twofold. One is potential the legal ramification that could result. The rules on this specific case seem well defined, but baseball’s legal structure can provide for confusing and counter-intuitive proceedings. Indeed, with its anti-trust exemptions MLB is immune from many of the business practice laws that govern other industries. How this case plays out could lead to some tinkering or rethinking of baseball’s legal status. Second is the obvious treatment (mistreatment?) of one of the game’s greatest players. It would be a shame if Bonds’ career went the way of Pete Rose. Haven’t we learned our lesson there? Despite your feelings towards Bonds personally, the fact of the matter is that there were dozens of players using performance enhancing drugs and that fact should preclude Bonds from taking the fall for all guilty parties. Baseball should be careful in painting a black veil over twenty years of its history.

Follow this link to see some of my Barry Bonds photos.