Originally from Dispute Resolution Journal

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Major League Baseball (MLB), has been around since the 1800s, and is often referred to as “America’s Pastime.”  That means, for over 150 years, professional baseball has captured the heart and minds of generations of Americans.  So, for a sport that has been a model for such great longevity and endurance, it might be surprising to hear that there is a major issue within professional baseball.  However, surprising this might be, it is undoubtedly true that there is a glaring error within the MLB’s structure. That error is the MLB’s Salary Arbitration process.

Most likely, most casual fans and viewers of professional baseball do not understand, or even know about, the MLB’s Salary Arbitration process.  This is not surprising, as most of this process takes place behind the scenes and does not directly affect the play on the field.  However, this process is vitally important, and I believe, incredibly flawed.  While this Arbitration Salary process may never affect the game from the perspective of the average viewer, it most certainly has great effects on the players and teams themselves, which could ultimately result in unknown effects to the viewers.

To begin to understand these effects on the players and teams and consequently, the viewers, the Salary Arbitration process itself must first be explained and understood. The Salary Arbitration process takes place between a professional baseball player, for example Babe Ruth, and a team, such as the New York Yankees.  Of course, these are not the only two parties involved in the process, but they are the ones that will be directly affected by the results of the Salary Arbitration process.  There will be many other individuals and representatives on each side of the arbitration that will be key to the outcome.