Acting like umpires gathered around a video replay of a contested call, the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has awarded former baseball star Steve Garvey a $3 million home run. In doing so, the court overturned an arbitrator’s ruling that had called the 10-time All Star out on strikes. In a 2-1 decision, a 9th Circuit panel described arbitrator Thomas Roberts’ ruling against Garvey as “bizarre.” (Garvey v. Roberts, 9th Cir., Filed February 10, 2000.)
The case stemmed from a 1990 agreement by Major League Baseball owners to pay the Major League Players Association $280 million after the union proved the owners colluded to keep player salaries down. The union set up a disbursement system to pay players who claimed they were hurt by the collusion. Each case was considered individually.
