Celebrating 50 Years of Free Agency in Baseball

About this episode

The episode discusses the 50th anniversary of free agency in baseball and features an interview with economics professor Michael Haupert about the Major League Baseball Players Association.

It’s baseball season, and it’s the 50th anniversary of free agency. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll look at one of the most successful unions in American labor history – the Major League Baseball Players Association. We’ll talk with Michael Haupert, economics professor and expert on the business of baseball, about the union and the union’s biggest win – free agency for players. Our feature is Safety First with Mary Erio.

People in this episode

Guest: Michael Haupert

Topics covered

• free agency
• baseball
• labor unions
• Major League Baseball
• economics
• sports history

Keywords

• free agency
• baseball
• labor history
• Michael Haupert
• MLB Players Association
• sports economics
• union success

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Major League Baseball Players Association

More episodes of Heartland Labor Forum

• The 2026 State of Misery Legislative Sum-up and the Labor Caucus and --- IT'S KKFI SUMMER FUND DRIVE! · June 9, 2026 · 60 min
• Is the Proposed Royals Stadium a Good Deal for Taxpayers? · June 2, 2026 · 60 min
• It's Labor History Month - plan your vacation with a map of labor sites and Quindaro - some local history · May 27, 2026 · 59 min
• Mid-Continent Library Workers Organize and Retiring Texas AFL-CIO President Rick Levy · May 19, 2026 · 1h 0m
• Motown & the Making of Working-Class Revolutionaries and the Kansas City Public School Foundation · May 11, 2026 · 1h 0m
• KU Pharmacists Organize! · May 6, 2026 · 59 min