"To tell the truth, I wasn't too successful in the famous Koufax-Drysdale double holdout in 1966. I mean, when the smoke had cleared they stood together on the battlefield with $235,000 between them, and I stood there With a blood-stained cashbox. Well, they had a gimmick and it worked; I'm not denying it. They said that one wouldn't sign unless the other signed."
"Koufax was coming off a season in which he went 26-8 with a 2.04 ERA, 1.93 WHIP and 27 complete games over 43 appearances (41 starts). During the 1965 campaign he led the Majors in wins, ERA, innings pitched (335.2), strikeouts (382) and strikeouts-to-walk ratio (5.38). Koufax also won a second career Cy Young Award that year, was named to his fifth All-Star Game and finished second in MVP voting."
In February 1966, Los Angeles Dodgers pitchers Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax refused to report for Spring Training, initiating a 32-day holdout seeking a combined three-year, $1 million contract split evenly between them. During an era without free agency or salary arbitration, their coordinated action faced significant public criticism despite their elite status. The holdout proved successful when they signed for $105,000 and $130,000 respectively on March 30, 1966. This landmark event is credited as the first instance of players banding together collectively and directly catalyzed major changes in baseball's labor structure, including the elimination of the reserve clause and the subsequent introduction of arbitration and free agency.
Read at Dodger Blue
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]