Abstract

One of the most radically transformative shifts in sport history occurred between 1970 and 1975 with the dissolution of the reserve clause in Major League Baseball. In just five years, the legal proceedings of Curt Flood, Jim ‘Catfish’ Hunter, Andy Messersmith, and Dave McNally ruptured a system that had been in place since 1879 and brought about free agency, revolutionizing the economic relations between baseball players and team owners. Skyrocketing player salaries and increased roster turnover in the ensuing years, however, also transformed the dynamics between fans, their local teams, and their favourite players, relationships that historically had been built on roster continuity. Free agency elicited a heightened awareness of the imminent instability of teams, undermining fans’ traditional team allegiance and opening a space for a new mode of expression of their loyalty. This space facilitated the emergence of Rotisserie League Baseball, a forerunner of fantasy baseball and arguably the first fully-fledged fantasy sport. In other words, the advent of free agency constituted a watershed moment in baseball history that modified conceptions of fan loyalty, control, and ownership, paving the way for the birth of fantasy sport.

摘要

体育史上最彻底的变革之一发生在 1970 年至 1975 年间，当时美国职业棒球大联盟的预备役条款被取消。在短短五年内，Curt Flood、Jim ‘Catfish’ Hunter、Andy Messersmith 和 Dave McNally 的法律诉讼打破了自 1879 年以来一直存在的制度，并带来了自由球员市场，彻底改变了棒球运动员和球队老板之间的经济关系. 然而，随后几年飞涨的球员薪水和不断增加的球员更替也改变了球迷、当地球队和他们最喜欢的球员之间的关系，这种关系历来建立在球员名单的连续性上。自由球员引起了对球队迫在眉睫的不稳定的高度认识，破坏球迷对球队传统的忠诚，为他们忠诚的表达方式开辟了新的空间。这个空间促进了 Rotisserie League Baseball 的出现，它是梦幻棒球的先驱，可以说是第一个成熟的梦幻运动。换句话说，自由球员的出现构成了棒球历史上的一个分水岭，它改变了球迷忠诚度、控制权和所有权的概念，为梦幻运动的诞生铺平了道路。