Major-league players expressed delight over Monday's ruling that owners conspired to stifle the free-agent market, but were unsure whether the decision signaled a return to the owners' free-spending days of the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Arbitrator Thomas Roberts ruled that owners violated the collective bargaining agreement by deciding together not to sign free agents, forcing the players to re-sign with their old teams for less money. Hearings will be held to determine if the affected players are due damage awards.
'I don't think we'll ever see free agency like it once was,' said Philadelphia third baseman Mike Schmidt, who is eligible to become a free agent at the end of the season. 'I think the days of true free agency are over for good. Maybe (the owners have) learned how to live without it.'
Detroit outfielder Kirk Gibson, who re-signed with the Tigers after the 1985 season when he received no other offers, said the impact of the ruling may be very slight.
'There is no free agency at this point,' Gibson said, 'and you can't force a club to sign, say, three free agents a year. You just can't do that. The solution is both sides have to get together.'
The grievance was filed Feb. 3, 1986 by the Major League Baseball Players Association on behalf of the 1985-86 class of free agents, which included Gibson, Carlton Fisk, Phil and Joe Niekro and Donnie Moore.
Detroit pitcher Jack Morris, who was snubbed in the free-agent market before this season, was less forgiving than most players. The collusion case involving Morris and the rest of the 1986-87 class of free agents is being heard by a different arbitrator.
'We knew it was wrong when it happened,' Morris said. 'They kept doing it. They're crooks. The arbitrator ruled, 'Yes, they are crooks.' But now what do we do with the crooks?
'We knew it (the ruling) was going to happen. If it happened to a major corporation, they would be penalized severely. And baseball is like a major corporation.'
St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Jack Clark, eligible to become a free agent at the close of this season, believes the ruling will force owners to deal differently with players.
'They're going to have to treat us like human beings,' Clark said. 'We're not like cattle.'
Philadelphia catcher Lance Parrish, who moved from the Tigers to the Phillies as a free agent last season, was not surprised by the decision.
'They (owners) knew what they were doing,' he said. 'From the very beginning, I knew the Players Association would win this decision. It's a shame it had to come to this, but it was the only way the situation could be satisfied.'
Boston catcher Rich Gedman, who re-signed with the Red Sox in May after receiving no other significant offers, said, 'I think it's great and it's what we've been saying all along. Winning the decision certainly benefits us. But until a remedy comes about, you really don't know how it will affect you. It's certainly a step in the right direction.'
Fisk, a catcher with the White Sox, said the impact of the ruling depended on the remedies that are decided.
'(The arbitrator) may just say, 'You naughty owners, don't you ever do that again,' or 'You owe those players two dollars apiece' like they did in the USFL trial,' Fisk said. 'Who knows what will happen?
'I think we all have to wait until the remedy question is answered. There are a lot of questions about the next step.'
