MovieChat Forums > For Love of the Game (1999) Discussion > They Don't Make Trades On The Last Day O...

They Don't Make Trades On The Last Day Of The Season...


...do they?

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The new owners were going to trade him during the off season but Billy decided to retire instead after he threw his perfect game at Yankee Stadium. Billy Chapel would live in retirement with Jane abroad.

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Yes...but why the urgency to know if he'd accept the trade on the last day of the season? The owner sent his nephew to the locker room to wait for an answer.

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I got the impression that the trade was a cornerstone of the new owner's off-season strategy -- it seemed that Wheeler's advice in the hotel room early in the movie was sort of a thumb in the eye of the new owners. Thus, the urgency.

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ridiculous plot line i would give the movie an A- without it but I give it a B now. He was to be traded in the offseason, why the hell would the outgoing owner ever now, and why would they be worried about that instead of buying the team?

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There is a "deadline," but yes they can make trades after that deadline. The players have to pass waivers, and other teams can claim them...but often teams don't because of the contract.

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If a player has been on an active major league roster for ten full seasons and on one team for the last five, he may not be traded to another team without his consent (known as the 10 & 5 rule). Additionally, some players negotiate to have no-trade clauses in their contracts that have the same effect.

Billy Chapel had a 19 year career ALL with the Tigers. The new owners wanted to know if Billy would accept the trade to San Fran or would use his ability to block the trade, prior to the purchase.
Chapel probably had a pretty hefty contract one the new owners did not want ot have to foot if they could use that money to sign a couple of younger cheaper players to build the team around.

Also more than likely at some point in his career with the Tigers he had negotiated a No Trade Clause and in order to get the trade approved, the team would have to pay Billy a lot of extra cash to waive the no trade clause.


A Mountain Lion does not concern himself with the opinion of sheep.

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Exactly, but I just don't see the sense of urgency on the final day of the season. They could have started the process the following day. His perfect game gave him more leverage if he did decide to come back for a 20th year.

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