The Baseball Players' Labor Market Reconsidered

The owners wanted as few players as possible to become free agents. I wasn't entirely opposed to this; I didn't want as many free-agent players as to flood the market... What would likely produce the optimal mix of supply and demand? With no history offree agent movement to study, it was impossible to know which requirement would be best ... My gut feeling-and I stress feelingwas thatfive years would be better, and if the choice lay between four and six years, I would choose the latter. The owners' committee proposed six years; I suggested five.