84 Orioles At Athletics, October 6, 1974, The Last Days Of Dave Mcnally

20 May 2024

Album art features Dave McNally

Dave McNally is a legend, first as a starting pitcher and finally as an arbitration reliever.

He won more than 20 games in four consecutive seasons, was a three-time All-Star, won two World Series rings, and was the AL wins leader in 1970. He was part of the 1971 Orioles rotation that saw himself, Dobson, Palmer, and Cuellar all post 20 or more wins. He left Baltimore as the then greatest Orioles pitcher to date, with an 181-113 record and a 7-4 postseason record.

But it was his short stint with the 1975 Expos that made history. Following poor starts after the trade, McNally pulled himself from the team, there's no ray of hope that it'll get better.” This moment changed baseball forever because McNally never signed his retirement players.

Planning a legal challenge to the annual reserve clause, McNally’s status not being under contract yet still bound by the reserve clause saw McNally—a former Union Rep himself—named in the case… an insurance against the still-active Andy Messersmith being placed under contract before the arbitration date.

The insurance was never needed, yet McNally's contribution guaranteed the case would proceed and ended Major League Baseball's reserve clause.

Rather than a dry court transcription, let's head to the 1974 American League Championship Series, with McNally on the mound for the Orioles, facing off against the Athletics' Ken Holtzman.

Your commentators are Herb Carneal & Darrell Johnson.

You can find the boxscore here.

This game was played on October 6, 1974.