January 17, 1903
AL and NL Sign Peace Agreement
Executives of the competing major leagues wintering in Cincinnati have met and finalized an agreement to end hostilities regarding player contracts and the establishment of league sovereignty. Every player contract is hereafter recognized by both leagues as valid and binding. In addition, a reserve rule will be in effect for the protection of players under contract. The leagues circuits were also established, ending any further threat of the American League in placing teams in cities already occupied by the National League. Also, a committee will be formed for the establishment of a common code of rules that both leagues will adopt. And finally, disputed player contracts of both leagues were legally awarded to their rightful teams. Case in point, Sam Crawford will be awarded to Detroit instead of Cincinnati. It is our hopes that the two leagues can come together in peace and continue to represent our national pastime in its purist form on the world’s greatest stage.
------
Author’s note: Even though the National Agreement was actually approved in September of 1903, for our purposes we’ll include what we can of the teeth of that document before the 1903 season. In the 1903 National Agreement, the articles of the peace agreement earlier in the year were codified with specifics related to the handling of player contracts. The National Commission was formed and the reserve clause firmly reestablished. Limited rights were also described for minor league clubs that were members of the National Association. For our purposes, players will now reach eligibility for “free agency” after 12 years of service but will enter arbitration every year to keep teams honest about salaries, or so I hope. Although my ML has two affiliated minor league levels, free agency is set to 1-3 service years. Also, active roster sizes have increased from 16 to 18, but will be reduced back to 16 on June 1. The “40-man” roster will be enabled later in 1910 or so.