Originally from Dispute Resolution Journal

In taking a critical look at Ray Grebey, Jr.'s, evaluation of salary arbitration in baseball, the author describes the conditions that were present before the introduction of salary arbitration (through collective bargaining) in 1974. He offers several arguments to refute the claim that free agency obviated the need for salary arbitration. He concludes by outlining the factors he considers necessary for improvement of the salary arbitration procedure, including a suggestion that free agent salaries be deemed the most important criterion for comparable salary determination.

In his article, C. Raymond Grebey, Jr., the owners' former labor relations director, undertook an evaluation of the salary dispute-settling mechanism in effect in baseball since 1974. He failed, however, to provide the contextual setting in which the salary arbitration process arose. This major omission precludes an intelligent analysis or evaluation of that process.