In 2021, Gerrit Cole will make $36 million dollars as the ace of the Yankees and one of baseball’s best pitchers. One man that paved the way for Cole to make such an astronomical sum of money was Catfish Hunter.
On Dec. 31, 1974, Hunter signed a five-year, $3.25 million deal to play with New York and help usher free agency into Major League Baseball.
Like Cole, Hunter was considered one of the best, if not the best, pitchers in the game. He was coming off three straight World Series titles for the Oakland A’s.
Free agency wasn’t part of baseball in 1974, but Hunter was on his way to changing the game forever.