Alvin Moore & Atlanta Braves

Arbitration Proceeding

MLB-MLBPA Arb. 77-18 (1977)

Relevant factsFree

Moore's (plaintiff) one-year contract with the Atlanta Braves (defendant) included a covenant letting him demand a trade to a team of his choosing, or become a free agent if no trade occurred, despite having under a year of MLB service — far short of the five years the collective bargaining agreement required for free-agency eligibility; the league president disapproved the covenant as inconsistent with the league's reserve and free-agent re-entry system, and the players' union grieved on Moore's behalf.

IssueFree

Whether a Major League Baseball player and a team may agree to a contract that includes unique covenants, so long as those covenants do not infringe on the protected interests of other teams.

Holding & reasoning

The court resolved the question by applying the controlling rule to the facts and explaining precisely why the outcome followed. Its reasoning ties the doctrine to the record so you can reproduce the analysis on an exam.

Procedural history, concurrence & dissent

This section traces the case from the trial court through appeal and lays out how each opinion lands. Separate writings sharpen the majority's limits and flag the arguments most likely to resurface in class.

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