New York Yankees announce the signing of free agent pitcher Jim “Catfish” Hunter

Catfish hunter signs with yankees

On December 31, 1974, the New York Yankees announce the signing of free agent pitcher Jim “Catfish” Hunter, ending an unprecedented bidding war when he inks a five-year, $3.75 million dollar contract. This is triple the salary of any other major league player.

Hunter had been declared a free agent only 18 days earlier, after Oakland A’s owner Charlie Finley had failed to make an insurance payment and an independent arbitrator ruled that Finley had violated the contract, making Hunter a free agent. In 1974, Hunter won 25 games, forged a league-leading 2.49 era and won the Cy Young Award in helping the A’s to their third consecutive World Series title. In 1975, Hunter will win 23 games for the Yankees and will help New York to a pair of World Championships in 1977 and ’78. He will win election to the Hall of Fame in 1987.

 

Daily Rewind - Baseball History delivered daily

* indicates required

Baseball is the only game you can watch on the radio. Join the community today and listen to hundreds of broadcasts from baseball’s golden age.

Lets go! Start listening!

Start Listening today!
Share the Post:

Related Posts

Load More
Start Listieng to Classic Baseball Broadcasts (1934 - 1973)

Start Listieng to Classic Baseball Broadcasts (1934 - 1973)

Enjoy our free trial and start listening to games, interviews and shows! Ruth, Mantle, Aaron, and Seaver!

$9.99/month
$99/year
class="wp-singular post-template-default single single-post postid-4657 single-format-standard wp-custom-logo wp-embed-responsive wp-theme-kadence wp-child-theme-kadence-child logged-out footer-on-bottom hide-focus-outline link-style-standard content-title-style-normal content-width-normal content-style-unboxed content-vertical-padding-show non-transparent-header mobile-non-transparent-header kadence-elementor-colors elementor-default elementor-kit-193430 elementor-page-193959"