After four brief cups of coffee with the team, the Houston Astros discarded John Mayberry at the 1971 Winter Meetings, trading him to Kansas City. The beefy
In many ways the New York Yankees and owner George Steinbrenner helped create the free agent market in baseball. When the Oakland A’s failed to pay an insurance premium on Catfish Hunter following the 1974 season, the right-handed pitcher became baseball’s first free agent. Nearly every team in baseball bid on Hunter’s services, but the Yankees won the war.