Major League Baseball
North America’s oldest major sports league and the premier baseball competition, culminating in the World Series.
- Entries
- 9
- On the record
- 6
- Stories
- 2
- Latest entry
- Nov 4, 2026
The record
Major League Baseball's legal footing rests on a 1922 Supreme Court ruling. In Federal Base Ball Club of Baltimore v. National League, Justice Holmes wrote that giving baseball exhibitions was a purely state affair, outside the reach of the Sherman Act. Fifty years later, in Flood v. Kuhn, the Court called that exemption an aberration confined to baseball but kept it, saying any change was for Congress rather than the courts.
Inside the sport, the commissioner's office is the disciplinary authority. Bart Giamatti banned Pete Rose for life in 1989 after an investigation found he bet on games while managing the Reds. In 2024 the office banned infielder Tucupita Marcano for life under Rule 21 for betting on his own team's games, and in 2025 Rob Manfred ruled that permanent ineligibility ends at death, making Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson eligible for the Hall of Fame.
Performance-enhancing drugs and electronic sign-stealing produced the league's two largest investigations. The Mitchell Report of December 2007 named dozens of players and recommended changes to drug testing, saying discipline was appropriate only in the most egregious cases. In January 2020 MLB fined the Houston Astros $5 million, took four draft picks and suspended their manager and general manager for a year over sign-stealing in 2017 and 2018.
Roles and honours on the record
- 1922 National League, defendant in Federal Base Ball Club of Baltimore v. National League, U.S. Supreme Court source
- 1972 Commissioner Bowie Kuhn, respondent in Flood v. Kuhn, U.S. Supreme Court source
- 2007 Office of the Commissioner under Bud Selig, recipient of the Mitchell Report source
- as of 2025 Office of the Commissioner under Rob Manfred source
Every entry, newest first
- Reported
MLB declined comment on the umpires' pension suit, citing the pending lawsuit, per the AP. Joe West, 4 umpires sue MLB pension plan over $2M+ in benefits
- Reported
MLB announced a 211-game suspension of Rodriguez, citing use and possession of banned substances and obstruction of its investigation. A-Rod dropped his suits after a 162-game ban cost him $25M
Stories in this file
Sports · ⚖️ Joe West, 4 umpires sue MLB pension plan over $2M+ in benefits
MLB declined comment, citing the pending suit. Their lawyer says the five are owed over $2M; a pretrial conference is set for Dec. 11. 🗣️
Sports · ⚾ A-Rod dropped his suits after a 162-game ban cost him $25M
In 2014 he said he never used banned substances; the Miami Herald later reported a DEA summary says he told federal agents otherwise. 🗣️
The record, entry by entry
- 1922-05-29 Ruled In Federal Base Ball Club of Baltimore v. National League, the U.S. Supreme Court held that baseball exhibitions were not interstate commerce under the Sherman Act and affirmed judgment for the league. U.S. Supreme Court opinion, 259 U.S. 200 (LII copy)
- 1972-06-19 Ruled In Flood v. Kuhn, the Supreme Court kept baseball's antitrust exemption, calling it an established aberration and saying any remedy was for congressional, not judicial, action. U.S. Supreme Court opinion, 407 U.S. 258 (LII copy)
- 1989-08-23 Ruled Commissioner Bart Giamatti permanently banned Pete Rose after an investigation found he bet on Reds games while managing the team. Rose denied betting on baseball for nearly 15 years before admitting it in a 2004 book. ESPN report
- 2007-12-13 Official Former Senator George Mitchell's report named 86 players to differing degrees, recommended an independent drug-testing program and said discipline was appropriate only in the most egregious cases. Roger Clemens, the most prominent name, denied drug use through his lawyer. ESPN report
- 2020-01-13 Ruled MLB fined the Houston Astros $5 million, took their first- and second-round picks in 2020 and 2021, and suspended manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow for a year; no players were suspended. Sports Illustrated report
- 2024-06-04 Ruled MLB banned Tucupita Marcano for life under Rule 21 for betting on Pirates games while on the team's injured list, and gave four other players one-year suspensions for betting. ESPN report
- 2025-05-13 Ruled Commissioner Rob Manfred ruled that permanent ineligibility ends upon death, removing 17 deceased people, including Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson, from the permanently ineligible list. ESPN report