Historians Merely Repeat Each Other

But that's too much money!" cry the owners. "Some of the new salaries are insane! Some owner will do anything to buy a pennant. Only the rich clubs can play this game now, and the rest of us are going broke. Help!" To this the players reply, "How much is 'too much,' anyway? Who started these big salaries? You did. Wouldn't you take all that loot if it was offered to you? Why should we punish our teammates who are going to be the next free agents by agreeing to solve your problems? Go talk to George Steinbrenner -- or throw a net over him.

** Roger Angell, writing for The New Yorker, April 1981, reprinted in Late Innings

I didn't realize until I re-read this piece yesterday that this June 12th will mark the 25th anniversary of the 1981 strike. And, as the clip from Angell above suggests, not a lot has changed between now and then.

The owners still wail about how player salaries make it impossible for small market teams to compete. The players still don't see why they have to solve the owner's problems for them. The fans still complain that the players are making too damned much money -- until their team doesn't sign a pet free agent, at which point they complain their team isn't Serious About Winning™.

Over the last twenty-five years, MLB has bee dead and buried for a variety of reasons. Free agency (several times), cocaine scandals, more strikes, collusion, expansion (twice), the Wild Card, and (finally) steroids. Despite all this, MLB is still kicking, and I honestly think that the game is better than it ever has been.

The Collective Bargaining Agreement is up for renewal soon. I can only hope that the owners, players, and the people in Baron Budhausen's office will look at everything that has happened over the last quarter of a century and try to learn from it.

You know what they say about those who don't learn from history. However, recent labor negotiations personify another adage: History doesn't repeat itself; historians merely repeat each other.