The
Uncertainty of Signing Blank Player Contracts . . . .
Duke
Snider and Pee Wee Reese, Brooklyn Dodgers
Years before Pat Boone's
problems with the Oakland Oaks, it was not uncommon for members of the Brooklyn
Dodgers to sign blank player contracts. In an era when contract negotiations
were sometimes relatively informal, outfielder Duke Snider and shortstop Pee
Wee Reese, among other players, trusted Dodgers general manager Buzzy Bavasi
to fill in a figure on their contracts that was fair. One spring, Snider and
Reese both reported unsigned to the Dodgers' Vero Beach, Florida spring training
site. As the two prepared to take the field for their first workout of the spring,
a team official told them they had to sign their contracts before they could
take part in spring training. With that, Bavasi sent over blank contracts for
Snider and Reese. They signed the contracts and then joined their teammates
on the practice field. According to Snider, "We actually didn't know what
we were going to be paid until we received our first paycheck." The law
asks whether a reasonable person would find that a contract had been formed.
Surely, when signing the blank contracts, both Reese and Snider intended to
be bound by the contracts and, in effect, to accept the salary levels dictated
by the team. The players made a conscious decision to accept whatever salary
Bavasi thought to be appropriate. Reese and Snider both entered into valid contracts
with the Dodgers.