COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — At Doubleday Field here on Saturday, the Baseball Hall of Fame honored Curt Flood for challenging the reserve clause in 1970, when he refused to report to the Philadelphia Phillies after being traded to them by the St. Louis Cardinals. He took that challenge against Major League Baseball to the Supreme Court of the United States, but lost. Yet his boldness and selflessness in asserting his rights helped inspire free agency, which became a part of the game a few years later.
It was a short ceremony, one that was welcome for its recognition of Flood, especially by an organization like the Hall, which is part of baseball’s establishment (five M.