Forty years ago this month, baseball fans were amazed by the contract that free-agent pitcher Andy Messersmith signed with the Ted Turner-owned Braves: three years for $1 million, which seemed like a lot at the time.
Baseball salaries have been amazing folks ever since Messersmith ushered in the sport’s free-agency era.
“Even in just the last couple of years, you wouldn’t have guessed what would happen,” said Terry McGuirk, who worked for Turner’s fledgling TV business 40 years ago and now is the Braves’ chairman and CEO. “We are now at a $30 million-a-year pitcher, and we’re probably on our way to a $40 million pitcher.