Quote:
Originally Posted by joefromchicago
I'm not sure that's true, although I'll admit that I don't know when the major leagues adopted the 40-man roster rule.
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The 40-man roster limit was adopted in 1910. Prior to then, clubs could keep under reserve as many players as it wanted (and could afford). After the 1909 season, for example, Brooklyn had 61 players reserved, while Cleveland had 60. (At the other end of the scale, Washington had just 29.)
Wealthier clubs could effectively afford to pay a player to not play so as to keep him out of the hands of the competition. As a result, the 40-man limit was agreed upon as a way to prevent that practice and to allow talent to be more even distributed.
The 40-man limit is the reserve limit, that is, the maximum number of eligible players a major league club is allowed to have under contract. Over the years some exceptions have been made, such as players on the 60-day DL not counting against the 40-man roster, and so forth. But in the time period we're talking about when players could hold out, the reserve list and 40-man roster are effectively synonymous. (A player could theoretically be placed on the Ineligible List, which wouldn't count against the 40-man limit, but then a contract can't be offered, nor the player released, until after reinstatement.)
Since the cost of letting a player go was so low, clubs generally found it better to dump troublesome players and bring in a (cheap) replacement, especially since the minors were so extensive.
Quote:
Originally Posted by joefromchicago
Likewise, any player who entered the military in World War II was still reserved for the duration by the last team that employed him.
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Players returning from WWII were under special rules adopted in 1945. The roster limits were increased, with five additional active roster spots set aside exclusively for returning military veterans, as well as eight additional spots added to the reserve lists. Returning vets were entitled to at least 15 days' pay before they could be released, and didn't count at all against the reserve limit until after 15 days with his club. These provisions lasted through the 1945 and 1946 seasons. (These rules were modified over the years to account for returning military service players from other conflicts.)