The Mexican League Raids Stun the Major Leagues

In the spring of 1946, Mexican businessman Jorge Pasquel launched the most audacious talent raid in baseball history. He and his brothers, who controlled the Mexican League, offered major league players enormous contracts to jump south of the border. By early June, the defections had thrown the American and National Leagues into a panic.

Pasquel targeted established stars and disgruntled veterans, offering salaries that dwarfed what they earned in the United States. Mickey Owen, the Dodgers catcher still haunted by his dropped third strike in the 1941 World Series, was among the first to go. Sal Maglie of the Giants followed, along with Max Lanier and Fred Martin of the Cardinals. Vern Stephens of the Browns agreed to sign, then changed his mind at the last moment. In total, roughly two dozen major and minor leaguers headed to Mexico.

The money was real. Owen reportedly received a $12,500 bonus and a $15,000 salary, enormous figures when most players earned between $6,000 and $10,000 in the majors. Pasquel's fortune came from his family's customs brokerage business, and he spent freely. He wanted to build a league that could compete with the American and National Leagues on equal terms.

Commissioner Happy Chandler responded with force. He announced that any player who jumped to the Mexican League would be banned from organized baseball for five years. The threat worked. The exodus slowed, and several players began regretting their decisions almost immediately. Mexican League conditions were rough. Travel was grueling. Stadiums were basic. The competition, while respectable, was not major league caliber.

Most of the jumpers returned within a year or two, then fought the five-year ban in court. Danny Gardella, an outfielder who had played for the Giants, filed an antitrust lawsuit against baseball. His case was settled out of court in 1949, and Chandler quietly lifted the bans.

The Mexican League raids forced baseball to confront its labor practices. The reserve clause, which bound a player to one team indefinitely, could only survive as long as players had no alternatives. Pasquel had shown them one.