background-image:unset; Kluttz, who visited Hunter along with Paul, was the former As scout who had been vital in steering the pitcher toward the As in the first place. But the document in question was the only contract Hunter had. Never complained or made excuses - just an under-rated big time pitcher. Just a few months later, however, the Owner purchased the Memphis Pros of the American Basketball Association, supplementing the hockey team he had already acquired, the NHLs California Golden Seals. I didn't have a job. The A's also won their third consecutive World Series. Andruw Jones Hall of Fame Classic Home Run Derby Autographed bat, Bob Feller Signing Contract with Hank Greenberg photograph, Babe Ruth and Jacob Ruppert at Contract Signing photograph, Philadelphia Phillies versus San Diego Padres scorecard, Chicago Cubs versus New York Yankees scorecard. Much of the play-by-play, game results, and transaction information both shown and used to create certain data sets was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by RetroSheet. [2][11][12][13][14] He had been courted by 23 of the 24 teams, including the A's but not the San Francisco Giants,[15] and refused higher offers from the San Diego Padres and the Kansas City Royals. They also noted, as per the terms therein, that Finley had 10 days in which to comply. Video Film Room Hub Statcast MLB Network MLB Originals Podcasts. How about my wife? asked Catfish. It was Catfish who, after being declared a free agent by an arbitrator in December 1974, was made baseball's highest-paid player by the New York Yankees. Object number: B-1968-0141. But that is exactly what he did. [2][3] A story circulated that his family gave him the nickname as a child when he went missing and was later found with a string of catfish; there is no truth to that explanation. Dec. 31, 1974: Catfish. When the 24-year-old finished the 1970 season with an 18-14 recordtantalizingly close to his first 20-win campaignhe knew just where to look for the two missing victories. In 1976, Hunter was also the subject of the Bobby Hollowell song "The Catfish Kid (Ballad of Jim Hunter)", which was performed by Big Tom White and released on a 45 RPM single. Notably absent from the proceedings was George Steinbrenner, the Yankee general partner who is forbidden from participating in Yankee affairs under terms of his twoyear suspension from baseball following his conviction for illegal political contributions. Seitz was a perceptive, acute man. Prior to the 1968 season, Finley moved the A's from Kansas City to Oakland. The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball, Salaries may not be complete (especially pre-1985) and may not include some earned bonuses, Note, this is done in an automated way, so we apologize for any errors, & please. Joked Burke, Well, we wont have to worry about that, will we? The courts agreed, refusing Finleys plea at two levels of the judiciary. Union leader Marvin Miller, meanwhile, sent a letter to MLB Commissioner Bowie Kuhn, seeking official recognition of Hunters free agency. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. Hunter admitted he was partially stunned when he learned of Seitzs ruling. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. He paid immediate dividends with the Yankees, winning 23 games in the first year of his new contract, and then contributed to three straight pennant-winning seasons, 1976-1978. Jackson wanted New York and the stage of Yankee Stadium, the same as Hunter did before him. Ring out the old. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Finley.[5]. Keep up with headlines and events at the Baseball Hall of Fame, and see who will be taking their place in history next. What position did Catfish Hunter play? If he hadnt agreed to the arrangement, after all, it could hardly be valid. Catfish had won 106 games over the previous five years and had just been voted the American Leagues best pitcher and was still only 28 years old. [32][33][34] Hunter noticed arm weakness while hunting in the winter of 19971998. But on Dec. 31, 1974 the future Hall of Famer traded in his bright yellow As uniform for Yankee pinstripes, after a dispute over a technicality in his contract with As owner Charles O. Finley. Although his contemporaries were earning much moreTom Seaver made $173,000 in 1974, and Steve Carlton $165,000Catfish had no way of knowing that. To be a Yankee is a thought in everyones head and mine, Hunter said. vs. CLE 6.1 IP, 8 H, 2 SO, 1 BB, 4 ER. : It is my opinion that Hunter still belongs to the A's. Jimmy, he asked, what would it take for you to come and play for the Yankees? Kluttz had no power to make an offer, but he had a direct line to somebody who did. That was the day that Jim "Catfish" Hunter left the Oakland A's after an arbitrator named Peter Seitz ruled that the A's had violated Hunter's contract by not paying him money he was owed. The irony of Kluttz's presence is that if he had accepted an offer to join the newly created major league scouting bureau late last season, he wouldn't have been available to help the Yankees with Hunter. Win Expectancy, Run Expectancy, and Leverage Index calculations provided by Tom Tango of InsideTheBook.com, and co-author of The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball. Many historical player head shots courtesy of David Davis. He lost 12 games and had a 2,49 earnedrun average. On New Year's Eve, it shouldn't matter if. The difference with Hunters stipulation was that the Owner wouldnt have the money at allthe annuity would. Two weeks after he won his arbitration, Hunter became the highest-paid player in baseball and highest-paid pitcher in history when he signed a five-year contract with the New York Yankees worth $3.35 million. He had his best season in his last. In 1976, Hunter became the fourth major league pitcher to win 200 games before the age of 31 and the only one since Walter Johnson in 1915, preceded by Cy Young and Christy Mathewson. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. Matt Kelly was the communications specialist at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Catfish Hunter was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1987. From that point on, every deal Hunter made with Finley was extensively documented, with signatures from each party in all the appropriate places. Do you think Im a free agent?, Jim, let me ask you this, said Kapstein. Starting with Catfish Hunter's landmark contract for the 1975 season, let's go back and find the pitchers who set the marks for highest total value contract. "How a contract breach led Catfish Hunter to become baseball's first real free agent", "Catfish forever altered economics of sports", "Catfish selects Yankees, Pirates offer short $ $", "Hunter ruling stands but Finley to appeal", "Yearly League Leaders & Records for Complete Games", "Blue Jays Beat Yanks; Hunter on Disabled List", "Catfish Hunter still planning on retirement", "Hunter regains consciousness after fall", "Ace pitcher and baseball's first free-agent star", "Hunter Is Buried in the Town Where He Learned Baseball", "Perquimans County Chamber of Commerce/Visitor Center & Jim "Catfish" Hunter Museum", The ALS Association Jim "Catfish" Hunter Chapter, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Catfish_Hunter&oldid=1136285306, May 13,1965,for theKansas City Athletics, September 17,1979,for theNew York Yankees, Career statistics and player information from, This page was last edited on 29 January 2023, at 16:54. He was tired of the hour-long drive into Ahoskie, not to mention that the baseball season ended two months earlier and he hadnt so much as dusted off his hunting rifle. [16] New York was closer to his home in North Carolina and the team played on natural grass. For this reason, he declined to choose a team; accordingly, his plaque depicts him with no logo on his cap. Hunter's five-year contract with the Yankees wasvalued at $3.35 million. They were talking about nearly $3.5 million over five years, and Paul needed help. Joseph Flythe, one of the attorneys from Ahoskie, N.C., said six other teamsPittsburgh, Los Angeles, Montreal, San Diego, Kansas City and Clevelandremained in the serious bidding until Hunter decided he wanted to join the Yankees. You were the first to teach us how to win.. All images are property the copyright holder and are displayed here for informational purposes only. That left them about 12 hours to finalize things. You have breakfast with that boy tomorrow morning, she insisted. On Oct. 4 the MLBPA sent a telegram to Finleys Chicago office, notifying the Owner of his default and informing him that because of the impending playoffs and World Series, the effective date of termination [of Hunters contract] shall be the day following the last game played by the Oakland Athletics in 1974., The ALCS began at the Coliseum the following day. The document would come to be known around Yankees HQ as the Catfish Hunter Manifesto.. All rights reserved. Blue plastic ballpoint pen and cap. The money Hunter made when he signed that night at the Yankees old offices in the Parks Administration Building (in Flushing, Queens, of all places) seems quaint in comparison to the money modern free agents now make. (a) Using an annual effective interest rate of 6% (a rate that figures in a six-year personal loan of $120,000 that Oakland's owner Charlie Finley had made to Hunter in 1969 and then promptly recalled), find the value of the specified payments to the insurance company at the scheduled time of the last payment. Telling the pitcher to lay low until the end of the season, the agent said that hed visit Cherry in North Carolina over the winter to work out details. Dont sign nothing else, Kluttz advised. On Wednesday, May 8, against the Minnesota Twins, Hunter pitched the ninth perfect game in baseball history. (Age 33-162d) I cant see how anyone can say hes a free agent. The trouble with that logic was that Hunter, like any employee in any profession, was entitled to the terms of his contract, and accepting a check for which hed have to pay taxes was not within those terms. Hunters contract with the As was straightforward. Bio/Historical NotePen used by Jim "Catfish" Hunter to sign a five-year contract estimated at $3.75 million with the New York Yankees on December 31, 1974. (1968-74). Hunter probably didnt think he was changing the world because an arbitrator ruled in his favor. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. After a bidding war that included nearly every MLB team, the Yankees and Catfish Hunter ink a five-year/$3.75 million contract. Shortly after 7:00 p.m. Paul had a staffer schedule a news conference for 8:15. Hunter, a major leaguer for 10 years, tied for the most victories, in the majors last season with 25. The deal makes him the highest paid player in baseball . Not only had the period passed, Hunter said, but Finley never even bothered to respond. Once that buffer expired, however. How many seasons did Catfish Hunter play? Scores from any date in Major League history, Minor, Foreign, College, & Black Baseball, Frequently Asked Questions about MLB and Baseball, Subscribe to Stathead Baseball: Get your first month FREE. Charlie said, Here's the money, Hunter recalled. I did everything I could to live up to the contract, but he still has not paid the money, Hunter told him. 1968 May 08. By days end the Red Sox had upped it to $3 million over five. Kluttz signed Hunter to his first professional contract with the Kansas City A's in 1964. In that moment, Hunter -- one of the great pitchers of his time -- became baseballs first free agent. On February 11, 1974, Hunter agreed with the A's on a two-year, $200,000 contract with a clause stipulating that $50,000 payments be made to a life insurance annuity of his choosing in each of the two seasons. In 2004, the Oakland Athletics began the Catfish Hunter Award. however, I hereby offer, without qualification, to purchase and own the annuity on your life as you requested on or about August 1, 1974.. One was that Finley, while poring over the contract, added revisions in his own handwritinginstructions to his payroll department to earmark payments to whomever Hunter designated. I hung up the phone, Hunter said at the time when he learned of the ruling, and turned to my wife and said, We dont belong to anybody.. So was Catfish Hunter.". Desperate to find a suitable arrangement, he even offered up insanity: a 10-year contract at $15,000 per season in lieu of the $150,000 that he owed. In January 1970 Oakland As owner Charlie Finley loaned 23-year-old pitcher Jim Catfish Hunter $150,000 to buy a 485-acre farm adjacent to his existing property in North Carolina. Ring in the new. Catfish Hunter of the New York Yankees warms-up during spring training in March, 1975 in . Hunter and his team entertained between three and five clubs a day, 48 executives in all by the time things wrapped up. Bob Dylan wrote the song "Catfish" in 1975. On the morning of the last day of the year Hunter drove to Ahoskie prepared to finalize a deal. [36] Hunter is interred at Cedarwood Cemetery in Hertford, adjacent to the field where he played high school baseball. Yankees Sign Up Catfish Hunter In Estimated $3.75Million Deal, https://www.nytimes.com/1975/01/01/archives/yankees-sign-up-catfish-hunter-in-estimated-375million-deal-hunter.html. The most recent challenge to the reserve clause, made by St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Curt Flood, had been denied by the U.S. Supreme Court two years before. [2], In 1990, Hunter was inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame. Bowie Kuhn said it was like giving a life sentence to a pickpocket, and imposed a moratorium on other teams negotiating with Hunter. September 9, 1999 Round your answers to the nearest cent.) The tournament has raised over $200,000 since 1999. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. Rookie Status: Please note that not all works are on view at all times - their availability is subject to change per the discretion of the Museum staff. [21] Hunter became known as baseball's "first big-money free agent".[2]. What about the five grand he gave him for pitching a perfect game, or the cost of a new Cadillac for winning 21 in 1971? He was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, in his early 50s, and died of the disease about a year after his diagnosis. Javascript is required for the selection of a player. Paul was vibrant when he called Flythe back. And the map shows spots in Michigan, where fishermen caught Flathead catfish. Only an hour after the World Series ended, even as Oakland players celebrated in their clubhouse, the union filed two grievancesone against Finley for breach of contract, another against Kuhn and Major League Baseball for failure to declare Hunter a free agent. The total value of the pact sets a record for baseball. Just a year ago, the Yankees went through a devastating experience with another former Finley employe. us, Died: After Hunter's death, former teammate Reggie Jackson described Hunter as a "fabulous human being.