Born: 8-Apr-1946 Birthplace: Hertford, NC Died: 9-Sep-1999 Location of . Bio/Historical Note Pen 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. 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. (Doug McWilliams/National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum) James Augustus Hunter (April 8, 1946 September 9, 1999), nicknamed "Catfish", was a professional baseball player in Major League Baseball (MLB). 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. Catfish Hunter joined the Yankees in 1975 after a contract breach made him a free agent following 10 seasons with the Athletics, including three as a teammate with Dave Hamilton (right). Hunter was the last major league pitcher to throw 30 complete games in a season. From 1965 to 1979, he was a pitcher for the Kansas City/Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees. Finley claimed that he was fulfilling the contract when he offered Hunter a $50,000 check at the end of the season. Later he offered a bevy of excuses, including that the paperwork was lost. 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. Before baseball adopted its freeagent draft, major league clubs competed for young prospects and frequently paid upwards of $100,000. That was drastic. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. In addition to the money, Hunter got the bonuses he was looking for including guaranteed insurance payments and annuities for college tuition for his two children. The following is excerpted fromDynastic, Bombastic, Fantastic: Reggie, Rollie, Catfish, and Charlie Finleys Swingin As. I believe there was a higher offer, but no matter how much money offered, if you want to be a Yankee, you dont think about it.. Although his contemporaries were earning much moreTom Seaver made $173,000 in 1974, and Steve Carlton $165,000Catfish had no way of knowing that. [24] He left the game with a bruised foot and was eventually placed on the 21-day disabled list with the injury, not pitching again until May5. This material is made available for private study, scholarship, and research use. That was moment that George Steinbrenner became relevant to baseballs landscape, and that Charles O. Finley became an afterthought. Born: Twenty-two of the remaining 23 teams all but the San Francisco Giants entered the sweepstakes for baseballs best big game pitcher. Shortly after 7:00 p.m. Paul had a staffer schedule a news conference for 8:15. Finley, he said, you pay it the way the contract reads, and everything will be just fine. Finley launched into histrionics, crying to MacPhail, What can I do? - B-NY76-B (Doug McWilliams / National Baseball Hall of Fame Library), One thing worried me, Miller later reflected. When Hunter claimed to become a free agent after the season, he had little idea whether it would actually come to pass. Following the 1979 season and the end of his five-year contract, Hunter retired from baseball at age 33. 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. The display swayed MacPhail, who later said, The Oakland club offered everything to which [Hunter] is entitled. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. The first team to make an offer, the Cleveland Indians, opened with $2.4 million over 10 years. I didn't have a job. Kluttz signed Hunter to his first professional contract with the Kansas City A's in 1964. But he told great stories. I offer him the money and he wont take it.. Upon seeing how poorly his five-year, $1.5 million proposal stacked up, Yankees president Gabe Paul conceded defeat and made the two-and-a-half-hour road trip to Raleigh for his return flight to New York. That was the day that Jim "Catfish" Hunter left the Oakland As after an arbitrator named Peter Seitz ruled that the As had violated Hunters contract by not paying him money he was owed. Those three seasons, 1972-74, ended with the A's as World Champions each time. Ordinarily, Paul could go directly to owner George Steinbrenner for approval, but the Boss had been suspended by Bowie Kuhn for making illegal campaign contributions to Richard Nixon and was temporarily banned from contact. By Oct. 11 it was national news. From that point on, every deal Hunter made with Finley was extensively documented, with signatures from each party in all the appropriate places. (California Angels owner) Gene Autry came down here handing out records of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Hunter said. Phoenix, AZ 85004 Hunter has been the subject of multiple popular culture references. [3] The game was scoreless until the bottom of the seventh inning; at the plate, Hunter got three hits and drove in three of Oakland's four runs with a squeeze bunt in the seventh and a bases-loaded single in the eighth.[6]. He tells the managers who to pitch and when. We need to calculate the future value of this. Without its ace, Finleys As would fall to last place by 1977. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. On Dec. 16, Seitz formally upheld Hunters grievance but failed to mention the crucial out clause that would grant the pitcher freedom. It seemed for a moment that the midnight deadline might come and go. He was owed $100,000 total in 1974, with $50,000 to be paid to him directly from Finley and the remaining half to be issued in monthly payments on an insurance annuity. 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. Couldnt be worse than Finley, Kluttz reasoned, plus hes just as serious about winning. Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Friday, March 3, 1:04PM. Hunter's contract with the A's was straightforward. Paul was vibrant when he called Flythe back. Hunter signed with the Yankees on a five-year, $3.25 million contract. If you come to San Diego, he barked into the telephone, you can write your own check., Bavasi was informed that at that very moment Hunter was heading out the back door, to the airport and New York City. Clyde never lied to me then and he never lied to me now, said Hunter, who has won 88 games in the last four seasons while helping pitch the A's to three consecutive World Series championships. 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. 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. Hegrew up on a farm and excelled in a variety of sports at Perquimans County High School. He had just completed a stellar season, capturing the Cy Young Award after leading the American League in wins (25) and earned run average (2.49) and powering the Oakland Athletics to their third consecutive World Series title. Please email us if you have further information on the rights status of an image contrary to or in addition to the information in our records. My confidence grew as the hearing developed, Miller said. The New York Yankees signed Hunter to a five-year, $3,750,000 contract.) I hung up the phone, turned to my wife and said, We don't belong to anybody. I was scared. Seitz was a perceptive, acute man. Catfish Hunter Stats, Fantasy & News. . The Red Sox, Angels, Pirates and Mets had outside chances. . In the movie Grumpier Old Men, an enormous and highly prized fish is named "Catfish Hunter" by the locals. My favorite player of all time. By days end the Red Sox had upped it to $3 million over five. As a fellow North Carolinian, hed endeared himself to the Hunter family, earning extra points shortly after Hunter first signed when Finley tried to backtrack and get the teenager to agree to a second contractdated 1965 instead of 1964that would have allowed him to be sent to the minors without penalty owing to the expiration of the bonus baby rule. 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. So the Yankees beat out the Pirates, Dodgers, Padres, Royals, Expos and Cleveland for Hunters services. 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. When the A's failed to hold to a contract-mandated insurance payment, Catfish became the league's first free agent, and joined the New York Yankees for the remainder of his career (1974-9.) Data Provided By [4] He had won 161 games for the A's, 131 in seven seasons in Oakland and 30 in his first three seasons in Kansas City. He even suggested mediating the dispute himself, which Miller countered with a clause in the Basic Agreement mandating an impartial arbitrator for contract disputes between players and owners. [2][30], While with the Yankees, Hunter was a resident of Norwood, New Jersey, preferring to live outside of New York City. Dont sign nothing else, Kluttz advised. Hunter was to repay the money at a minimum of $20,000 per year, plus 6 percent interest, for as long as it took to get square. Youll be dead. It was not a good joke, and it continued to sour Hunter even after the Royals added $30,000 per year for the rest of Helen Hunters life as well. Pen has a silver clip near the top with "Regal / 39c / Carbide Ball Fine." (Doug McWilliams/National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum) Thats more money than we wanted to pay, he exuded, but well do it., There was only one catch. While football, basketball and hockey have been subjected to costly bidding wars in the last 15 years because of the birth of competing leagues, baseball has never had that problem. Many historical player head shots courtesy of David Davis. 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. Catfish Hunter was born on April 8, 1946.
Sanchez Last Name Origin,
Diversity Conferences 2022 Usa,
Articles C
