Take Me Out to the Courthouse · The Reserve Clause
The Team That Didn't Move
Butterworth v. National League of Professional Baseball Clubs (1994)
Charge: State attorney general's antitrust investigative demands against the league over a blocked franchise sale (league resisting the demands)Court: Supreme Court of FloridaDocket: The Reserve Clause
Does baseball's antitrust exemption shield the league's decisions on franchise sales and relocation from a state antitrust investigation?
The facts
A group of investors agreed to buy a West Coast club and move it to a Florida market that had no big-league team. The league's owners refused to approve the deal, and the club was sold to a local group instead. The state attorney general opened an antitrust investigation and served the league with demands for documents. The league said baseball's long-standing antitrust exemption shielded franchise sales and moves. The state said the exemption covered only the reserve system for players.
You have the facts the court had. Guilty or not guilty? Call it in the game with your friends, then see what the court actually decided. Wrong call, you drink.
Citation: Butterworth v. National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, 644 So. 2d 1021 (Fla. 1994)
Read more at quimbee.com. The source reveals the outcome.