Major League Rebels: Baseball Battles over Workers’ Rights and American Empire by Robert Elias and Peter Dreier (review)

Any book with the word “rebel” in its title is going to attract my attention, as people who have not been happy with the way things are and fight for change are fascinating to me.

With a foreword written by former Major League pitcher Bill “Spaceman” Lee I was further convinced I was going to like this book before I ever started a chapter. Authors Robert Elias and Peter Dreier didn’t disappointment me with their book Major League Rebels: Baseball Battles over Workers’ Rights and American Empire.

This is an extensive examination of the often-dark side of baseball from a business standpoint with players in battles over low pay, overall treatment, and racism.

The authors skillfully show how baseball owners in the late 1800s mimicked the businessmen of the day, who took advantage of their workers in every way possible in order to fill their pockets. The revolt of players during the era known as the “Gilded Age” sets the stage for future dissent among baseball players.

Labor issues, the way pro baseball deals with events such as wars, patriotism, and segregation are all examined under a harsh light. But into the light they thrust many players a reader may not have heard about before.

Every baseball fan knows, or should know, Curt Flood unsuccessfully fought the reserve clause through legal channels. But as the authors point out, players across all pro leagues received an education in how the reserve clause worked with players being treated as property rather than human beings. Flood saw his baseball career end as a result of his beliefs, but he laid the foundation for the multimillionaire players of today.

Marvin Miller, the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players’ Association, is legendary for making the union successful after years of false starts. But Elias and Dreier also give readers in- depth looks at players like Jim O’Rourke, Tim Keefe, Danny Gardella, and Tony Lupien, to name a few rebellious players profiled in the book whose names aren’t in the mainstream.

One of the more interesting parts of the book is how the Mexican League, which provided a safe haven for Black players, attracted several major league players through higher salaries. Jorge Pasquel owned the league and was a thorn in the side of major league owners for many years with some big- name players making the move south of the border. His challenge to Major League Baseball would end as his money eventually ran out.

Any book about baseball rebels has to include pitcher Jim Bouton, author of the infamous book Ball Four. Bouton, already known as a player who didn’t mind challenging the New York Yankees, his first major league team, was banned from old-timers’ day at Yankee Stadium. Bowie Kuhn, the commissioner of baseball at the time the book was published, tried to influence Bouton to say publicly his stories in the book were more imaginative than accurate.

A threat throughout the book is how baseball purists— including owners, executives, sports writers, and even some players—tried to protest the sport as being untarnished in any way.

Elias and Dreier dedicate their book to Terry Cannon, Bouton, Flood, and Miller. All were true rebels in the eyes of the baseball establishment, so it was fitting they were chosen.

The only complaint about the book is the authors often let their political views and beliefs show through instead of merely letting the facts tell the story. They destroy the myth that baseball is as American as apple pie. Some baseball purists may not enjoy what Elias and Dreier have to say, but I found the book to be well researched and interesting on many levels.