Free Agency History in Baseball

Jerome Holtzman has this little history about the beginning of free agency in baseball. I like this quote from long ago:

"This was just over a quarter of a century ago but only two teams, the Phillies and Yankees, had player payrolls in excess of $3 million; today it's the cost of an experienced utility infielder. The average Phillies' salary was $139,916 while the Yankees' checked in at $138,973, each more than twice the average. There were cries of doom. Bankruptcies were inevitable.... "

It's been over a quarter century and not only did no team become bankrupt during that time, no team moved to greener pastures until this year. That's a remarkable period of stability for professional sports in the US.