Take your Anti-Trust exemption

And shove it.

This post isn't about Super-Tuesday either. I am still figuring it out in my brain.

I watched, with horror, as Roger Clemens was "perp-walked" into the Capitol Building. The greatest pitcher of his generation, maybe of all time, is walking up the steps to be grilled by a bunch of hokey congressmen whose legacy will not even come close to rivalling Roger's. The people, it is said, they represent.

So I ask "why?" Why does congress have the ability to tar this great? Why did they get to take on McGuire and force him to plead the fifth? Why does Congress get a say?

Because of the Anti-trust exemption awarded to Major League Baseball in 1922 when the Surpeme Court ruled in the case of Baseball Club of Baltimore, Inc. v. National Baseball Clubs. MLB was then asking for the federal government to enforce its interstate commerce power to regulate the scheduling of interstate games. Now, MLB wants to keep the exemption so it can have a say over who moves what teams where. Many subsequent courts have pussied out in overuling the exemption - most often appealed on "agency" provisions where players are bound in contract to a team when they are drafted. To be fair, that particular provision is really unfair and isn't used by the Yankees anymore anyway because they have too much talent.

Phooey. The cost is too great - congressional oversight. How could that ever go poorly. Even the changes under the Curt Flood Act didn't go far enough.

In 2008, I don't think they need the anti-trust exemption to thwart competition. Lord knows that Stadiums don't build themselves, and I doubt that you and I could start up a rival league on the WB network. As a direct result of the monopoly- MLB built up a brand that can't be rivalled.

If I was an owner, I would hate the current rules. I believe the owners do not have a true ability to alienate their property and the players get screwed because they can't avail themselves of a myriad of rudimentary contract law provisions of agency, free or otherwise. Of course, no big name players care about that - only the poorest of the poor Minor leaguers who could develop into something if only they could get out from under the crushing thumb of their teams - who would rather watch them waste away then give them a major league shot on another team.

The big name players only care AFTER they have been dragged before Congress.

I would posit that MLB doesn't need the monopoly anymore. It should lapse kind of like a patent does.

In exchange, the leauge can be in charge of enforcing its own rules. Imagine that. The NFL does ok, the NBA does ok, and even, shock of shocks, the NHL does ok.

That and the monopoly doesn't apply to Toronto. Nothing like a collection of equals with an odd man out.