Introduction [excerpts] Chapter 1 of this paper will examine the past history of baseball labor relations, from the earliest days of the players' unsuccessful attempts to unionize, early days of player free agency, and labor schisms that led to significant work stoppages in 1972 and 1981. The late 1980s would see collusion by team owners to keep player salaries down, as well as the eventual installation of one of their own, Bud Selig, as commissioner. The effect was to set players and owners upon an unavoidable...