The "Curt Flood Act of 1998"(S. 53, 105th
Congress)(1) was narrowly
directed at altering just one aspect of the anomalous situation under which professional baseball
operates with an "exemption" from the antitrust laws. The measure added a new section (§
26b)(2) to the Clayton Act
(15 U.S.C. §§ 12 et seq.) to clarify that major league baseball players would be covered under the
federal antitrust laws to the same extent as are other professional athletes, and defined "major league
baseball players" as persons who are or were parties to major league players' contracts. It specifically
did not purport to affect in any way, inter alia: (1) professional baseball's relations with "organized
professional minor league baseball"; or (2) "the agreement between organized professional major
league baseball teams and the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues ("Professional
Baseball Agreement"). Questions concerning whether the measure will be of substantial efficacy,
however, remain, primarily owing to the existence of the judicially created labor-antitrust doctrine.