May 4, 1977 - Catfish Hunter

There was no game on May 4 for the Yankees, so here is the latest video player profile, this one on Hall of Fame pitcher Catfish Hunter.

On Dec. 31, 1974, Hunter made history by becoming the first player to have the freedom to offer his services to any club. In other words, he became Major League Baseball’s first free agent.

The contract Hunter had signed with Oakland A’s owner Charlie Finley stipulated that he be paid $100,000 for the 1974 season, but half of that was supposed to be paid monthly on an insurance annuity. When Finley was late on those payments, a rift between the two men developed, and this brought MLBPA chief Marvin Miller into the fray.

He got the case to be heard by Peter Seitz, an independent arbitrator, and his hope would be that Seitz was nullify the contract, therefore allowing Hunter to become a free agent. This had been Miller’s primary objective ever since he’d come into power, and here was the chance to finally obliterate baseball’s reserve clause.

Seitz indeed sided with Hunter, and Yankees owner George Steinbrenner wasted no time pouncing on baseball’s first free agent of the modern era, signing Hunter to a five-year deal worth $3.75 million.

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