
Baseball's Power Shift
How the Players Union, the Fans, and the Media Changed American Sports Culture
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $24.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
John T. Arnott
-
By:
-
Krister Swanson
About this listen
From Major League Baseball's inception in the 1880s through World War II, team owners enjoyed monopolistic control of the industry. Despite the players' desire to form a viable union, every attempt to do so failed. In the mid-1960s, star players Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale staged a joint holdout for multiyear contracts and much higher salaries. Their holdout quickly drew support from the public; for the first time, owners realized they could ill afford to alienate fans, their primary source of revenue.
Baseball's Power Shift chronicles the growth and development of the union movement in Major League Baseball and the key role of the press and public opinion in the players' successes and failures in labor-management relations. Swanson focuses on the most turbulent years, 1966 to 1981, which saw the birth of the Major League Baseball Players Association as well as three strikes, two lockouts, Curt Flood's challenge to the reserve clause in the Supreme Court, and the emergence of full free agency.
Swanson shows how fans and the media became key players in baseball's labor wars and paved the way for the explosive growth in the American sports economy.
©2016 Krister Swanson (P)2017 Redwood AudiobooksListeners also enjoyed...
-
A Well-Paid Slave
- Curt Flood's Fight for Free Agency in Professional Sports
- By: Brad Snyder
- Narrated by: Nnamdi Asomugha
- Length: 16 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After the 1969 season, the St. Louis Cardinals traded their star center fielder, Curt Flood, to the Philadelphia Phillies, setting off a chain of events that would change professional sports forever. At the time there were no free agents, no no-trade clauses. When a player was traded, he had to report to his new team or retire. Unwilling to leave St. Louis and influenced by the civil rights movement, Flood chose to sue Major League Baseball for his freedom.
-
-
Great story of a great legend
- By Library Bob on 11-25-24
By: Brad Snyder
-
Getting to Yes
- Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In
- By: Roger Fisher, William Ury
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 6 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Getting to Yes is a straightorward, universally applicable method for negotiating personal and professional disputes without getting taken - and without getting angry. It offers a concise, step-by-step, proven strategy for coming to mutually acceptable agreements in every sort of conflict - whether it involves parents and children, neighbors, bosses and employees, customers or corporations, tenants or diplomats.
-
-
Maybe I Could Go to Four and One-Half Stars
- By John on 01-14-12
By: Roger Fisher, and others
-
Negotiation Genius
- How to Overcome Obstacles and Achieve Brilliant Results at the Bargaining Table and Beyond
- By: Deepak Malhotra, Max Bazerman
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 11 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From two leaders in executive education at Harvard Business School, here are the mental habits and proven strategies you need to achieve outstanding results in any negotiation.
-
-
Pragmatic & Powerful Negotiation Methodology
- By Martin Fierro on 09-30-16
By: Deepak Malhotra, and others
-
Democracy in Chains
- The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America
- By: Nancy MacLean
- Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
- Length: 11 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Behind today's headlines of billionaires taking over our government is a secretive political establishment with long, deep, and troubling roots. The capitalist radical right has been working not simply to change who rules but to fundamentally alter the rules of democratic governance. But billionaires did not launch this movement; a white intellectual in the embattled Jim Crow South did.
-
-
A must read if you believe in democracy
- By H. L. Nelson on 10-11-17
By: Nancy MacLean
-
The Art of Strategy
- A Game Theorist's Guide to Success in Business and Life
- By: Barry J. Nalebuff, Avinash K. Dixit
- Narrated by: Matthew Dudley
- Length: 17 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Game theory means rigorous strategic thinking. It’s the art of anticipating your opponent’s next moves, knowing full well that your rival is trying to do the same thing to you. Though parts of game theory involve simple common sense, much is counterintuitive, and it can only be mastered by developing a new way of seeing the world. Using a diverse array of rich case studies - from pop culture, TV, movies, sports, politics, and history - the authors show how nearly every business and personal interaction has a game-theory component to it.
-
-
Completely misleading title
- By Motorjaw on 01-28-15
By: Barry J. Nalebuff, and others
-
Bargaining for Advantage
- Negotiation Strategies for Reasonable People: 2nd Edition
- By: G. Richard Shell
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As director of the renowned Wharton Executive Negotiation Workshop, Professor G. Richard Shell has taught thousands of business leaders, administrators, and other professionals how to survive and thrive in the sometimes rough-and-tumble world of negotiation. His systematic, step-by-step approach comes to life in this book, which is available in over ten foreign editions and combines lively storytelling, proven tactics, and reliable insights gleaned from the latest negotiation research.
-
-
Loaded with practical strategies, real scenarios
- By Tiasdolls on 10-10-17
By: G. Richard Shell
-
A Well-Paid Slave
- Curt Flood's Fight for Free Agency in Professional Sports
- By: Brad Snyder
- Narrated by: Nnamdi Asomugha
- Length: 16 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After the 1969 season, the St. Louis Cardinals traded their star center fielder, Curt Flood, to the Philadelphia Phillies, setting off a chain of events that would change professional sports forever. At the time there were no free agents, no no-trade clauses. When a player was traded, he had to report to his new team or retire. Unwilling to leave St. Louis and influenced by the civil rights movement, Flood chose to sue Major League Baseball for his freedom.
-
-
Great story of a great legend
- By Library Bob on 11-25-24
By: Brad Snyder
-
Getting to Yes
- Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In
- By: Roger Fisher, William Ury
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 6 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Getting to Yes is a straightorward, universally applicable method for negotiating personal and professional disputes without getting taken - and without getting angry. It offers a concise, step-by-step, proven strategy for coming to mutually acceptable agreements in every sort of conflict - whether it involves parents and children, neighbors, bosses and employees, customers or corporations, tenants or diplomats.
-
-
Maybe I Could Go to Four and One-Half Stars
- By John on 01-14-12
By: Roger Fisher, and others
-
Negotiation Genius
- How to Overcome Obstacles and Achieve Brilliant Results at the Bargaining Table and Beyond
- By: Deepak Malhotra, Max Bazerman
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 11 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From two leaders in executive education at Harvard Business School, here are the mental habits and proven strategies you need to achieve outstanding results in any negotiation.
-
-
Pragmatic & Powerful Negotiation Methodology
- By Martin Fierro on 09-30-16
By: Deepak Malhotra, and others
-
Democracy in Chains
- The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America
- By: Nancy MacLean
- Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
- Length: 11 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Behind today's headlines of billionaires taking over our government is a secretive political establishment with long, deep, and troubling roots. The capitalist radical right has been working not simply to change who rules but to fundamentally alter the rules of democratic governance. But billionaires did not launch this movement; a white intellectual in the embattled Jim Crow South did.
-
-
A must read if you believe in democracy
- By H. L. Nelson on 10-11-17
By: Nancy MacLean
-
The Art of Strategy
- A Game Theorist's Guide to Success in Business and Life
- By: Barry J. Nalebuff, Avinash K. Dixit
- Narrated by: Matthew Dudley
- Length: 17 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Game theory means rigorous strategic thinking. It’s the art of anticipating your opponent’s next moves, knowing full well that your rival is trying to do the same thing to you. Though parts of game theory involve simple common sense, much is counterintuitive, and it can only be mastered by developing a new way of seeing the world. Using a diverse array of rich case studies - from pop culture, TV, movies, sports, politics, and history - the authors show how nearly every business and personal interaction has a game-theory component to it.
-
-
Completely misleading title
- By Motorjaw on 01-28-15
By: Barry J. Nalebuff, and others
-
Bargaining for Advantage
- Negotiation Strategies for Reasonable People: 2nd Edition
- By: G. Richard Shell
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As director of the renowned Wharton Executive Negotiation Workshop, Professor G. Richard Shell has taught thousands of business leaders, administrators, and other professionals how to survive and thrive in the sometimes rough-and-tumble world of negotiation. His systematic, step-by-step approach comes to life in this book, which is available in over ten foreign editions and combines lively storytelling, proven tactics, and reliable insights gleaned from the latest negotiation research.
-
-
Loaded with practical strategies, real scenarios
- By Tiasdolls on 10-10-17
By: G. Richard Shell
-
Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream
- The Most Revealing Portrait of a President and Presidential Power Ever Written
- By: Doris Kearns Goodwin
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman, Jim Frangione
- Length: 17 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Doris Kearns Goodwin's classic life of Lyndon Johnson, who presided over the Great Society, the Vietnam War, and other defining moments in the tumultuous 1960s, is a monument in political biography. From the moment the author, then a young woman from Harvard, first encountered President Johnson at a White House dance in the spring of 1967, she became fascinated by the man - his character, his enormous energy and drive, and his manner of wielding these gifts in an endless pursuit of power.
-
-
Unfortunately simple slant.
- By Lynda Rands on 01-22-17
-
My Story
- By: Julia Gillard
- Narrated by: Julia Gillard, Jennifer Vuletic
- Length: 18 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"I was prime minister for three years and three days. Three years and three days of resilience. Three years and three days of changing the nation. Three years and three days for you to judge." On Wednesday 23 June 2010, with the government in turmoil, Julia Gillard asked Prime Minister Kevin Rudd for a leadership ballot. The next day, Julia Gillard became Australia's 27th prime minister, and our first female leader.
-
-
Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me
- By Michael on 10-11-16
By: Julia Gillard
-
Scorpions
- The Battles and Triumphs of FDR's Great Supreme Court Justices
- By: Noah Feldman
- Narrated by: Cotter Smith
- Length: 14 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
They began as close allies and friends of FDR, but the quest to shape a new Constitution led them to competition and sometimes outright warfare. Scorpions tells the story of four great justices: their relationship with Roosevelt, with each other, and with the turbulent world of the Great Depression, World War II, and the Cold War. It also serves as a history of the modern Constitution itself.
-
-
A MOST HONOURABLE SWANSONG
- By Dudley H. Williams on 05-27-12
By: Noah Feldman
-
Louis D. Brandeis
- American Prophet
- By: Jeffrey Rosen
- Narrated by: Traber Burns
- Length: 7 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
According to Jeffrey Rosen, Louis D. Brandeis was "the Jewish Jefferson", the greatest critic of what he called "the curse of bigness" in business and government since the author of the Declaration of Independence. Published to commemorate the 100th anniversary of his Supreme Court confirmation on June 1, 1916, Louis D. Brandeis: American Prophet argues that Brandeis was the most farseeing constitutional philosopher of the 20th century.
-
-
Maybe the finest biography I have ever “read”
- By Steve Paul on 11-01-20
By: Jeffrey Rosen
-
So Damn Much Money
- The Triumph of Lobbying and the Corrosion of American Government
- By: Robert G. Kaiser
- Narrated by: Erik Synnestvedt
- Length: 16 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this sometimes shocking and always riveting book, Robert G. Kaiser who has covered Congress, the White House and national politics for The Washington Post since 1963, explains how and why over the last four decades, Washington became a dysfunctional capital.
-
-
Essential knowledge
- By Fernando on 06-06-16
By: Robert G. Kaiser
-
Players
- The Story of Sports and Money - and the Visionaries Who Fought to Create a Revolution
- By: Matthew Futterman
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For fans of Michael Lewis, the astounding untold story of how professional sports transformed, in the span of a single generation, from a cottage industry into a massive global business. In the cash-soaked world of contemporary sports, where every season brings news of higher salaries, endorsement deals, and television contracts, it is mind-boggling to remember that as recently as the 1970s elite athletes earned so little money that many were forced to work second jobs in the off-season to make ends meet.
-
-
Starts slow...
- By John on 08-09-16
-
Dare to Prepare
- How to Win before You Begin
- By: Ronald M. Shapiro, Gregory Jordan
- Narrated by: Ronald M. Shapiro
- Length: 7 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
During his 40-year career in the worlds of law, sports, business, and politics, Ron Shapiro has worked with a great variety of people. He's found that the secret for getting into the winner's circle is simply disciplined preparation.
-
-
worth listening to
- By Andy on 04-29-08
By: Ronald M. Shapiro, and others
-
Over Here
- The First World War and American Society
- By: David M. Kennedy
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 17 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Great War of 1914-1918 confronted the United States with one of the most wrenching crises in the nation's history. It also left a residue of disruption and disillusion that spawned an even more ruinous conflict scarcely a generation later. Over Here is the single most comprehensive discussion of the impact of World War I on American society.
-
-
Good HISTORY AWFUL READING
- By Magyar on 02-05-20
By: David M. Kennedy
-
The Great Depression: A Captivating Guide to the Worldwide Economic Depression That Began in the United States, Including the Wall Street Crash, FDR's New Deal, Hitler’s Rise and More
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Desmond Manny
- Length: 3 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The stock market crash of 1929 didn’t cause the Great Depression by itself, but it is a powerful symbolic starting point to the greatest economic disaster of the 20th century. On that dark day in October 1929, fortunes were lost, and fear of financial insecurity rose throughout the United States and the world. In 1932, the low point of the Depression, as much as a third of Americans were out of work, and even more people were unemployed in other countries. The stock market reached its lowest point ever and wouldn’t rise to its pre-Depression levels for almost 20 years.
-
-
too focused on political correctness.
- By B. Garrett on 02-17-21
-
Not One Inch
- America, Russia, and the Making of Post-Cold War Stalemate
- By: M.E. Sarotte
- Narrated by: Teri Schnaubelt
- Length: 15 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Based on over a hundred interviews and on secret records of White House-Kremlin contacts, Not One Inch shows how the United States successfully overcame Russian resistance in the 1990s to expand NATO to more than 900 million people. But it also reveals how Washington's hardball tactics transformed the era between the Cold War and the present day, undermining what could have become a lasting partnership.
-
-
America's NATO problem
- By Jeffrey D on 03-24-22
By: M.E. Sarotte
-
The "Down Goes Brown" History of the NHL
- The World's Most Beautiful Sport, the World's Most Ridiculous League
- By: Sean McIndoe
- Narrated by: Sean McIndoe
- Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sean McIndoe of Down Goes Brown, one of hockey's favorite and funniest writers, takes aim at the game's most memorable moments - especially if they're memorable for the wrong reasons - in this warts-and-all history of the NHL.
-
-
Fun, fascinating education in hockey history
- By D. Trull on 03-27-19
By: Sean McIndoe
-
Fair Ball
- A Fan's Case for Baseball
- By: Bob Costas
- Narrated by: Bob Costas
- Length: 3 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From his perspective as a journalist and a true fan, Bob Costas, NBC's award-winning broadcaster, shares his views on the forces that are diminishing the appeal of Major League Baseball and proposes realistic changes that can be made to protect and promote the game's best interests. Costas answers each problem he cites with an achievable strategy for restoring genuine competition and rescuing fans from the forces that have diluted the sheer joy of the game.
-
-
Fascinating...even 20-years later!
- By Brigham on 03-07-19
By: Bob Costas
Critic reviews
What listeners say about Baseball's Power Shift
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Richard A. Macias
- 03-24-19
Excellent work, well worth reading.
Detailed and well written, this work provides insight to the development and struggles of management and labor relations throughout the history of baseball, tackling a potentially dry subject in an interesting fashion. I would recommend this book to anyone wishing to learn not just the history of baseball labor relations, but the interplay of business, litigation, negotiation and public opinion. Well done!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Steven Gerweck
- 03-05-24
A history of labor relations in MLB
Author Krister Swanson takes an examination of the tumultuous relationship between owners of Major League Baseball franchises and the players. Former Major Leaguer Rusty Staub was once remarked that the owners are nothing without the players, and the players are nothing without the owners. That makes sense on paper, but as demonstrated in "Baseball's Power Shift," it has never been that easy.
In 1876, baseball owners adopted the reserve clause, which bond a player to his team for the duration of the player's career. The player could be sold or traded, but was not afforded the opportunity to shop his services around the league. Despite challenges through the years, it would not be until Curtis Floyd's successful legal fight that the courts finally struck down the dreaded reserve clause, opening the door to free agency.
Swanson documents how the public's perception of unions was shaped by the media, often times resulting in fans siding with the owner's in labor squabbles. The owners were able to convince fans that the players should feel fortunate to earn a living playing a kid's game, and were ungrateful and selfish when they complained. The players had to convince the public that they were workers, and deserved to be treated fairly. Some players had to work outside of baseball to support their families.
As established in "Baseball's Power Shift," owners insisted on the reserve clause to assure competitive balance. When challenged about the merits of the reserve clause, the magnates stated that baseball was an unique business, which required unique rules. Holding all the cards, owners could blacklist players that attempted to play elsewhere. For decades, the league was able to thwart off efforts of the players to unionize.
The players considered turning to the Teamster's for assistance, but finally in the 60's, a union was formed led by the shrewd Marvin Miller. The union successfully exposed the owner's inflexibility, and the public's perception started to shift. Miller was able to protect the player's pension fund, and rallied support among some of the reluctant players. Swanson traces the decades of labor strife, and brilliantly shows how it relates to today's issues.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!