Dierker No-Hits Atlanta
First Outlaw in Club
ATLANTA (Apr. 30) -- One of the league's most undervalued and underappreciated pitchers got his moment in the sun today.  Larry Dierker added his name to the list of UL pitchers who have authored no-hitters, becoming the first Outlaw in the illustrious club.  The 26-year-old righthander came into the season with 120 wins, the seventh most among active pitchers, and the most of any pitcher under 35.  Only Dallas and Detroit have not had a no-hitter.

Los Angeles has struggled this season.  The club ranks 8th in both runs and runs allowed, and had lost five straight, including a three-game sweep at Detroit, before Dierker's no-no.  Dierker lost his first three starts of the season before snapping the streak Apr. 19 in Brooklyn with a 10-strikeout effort.

Ken Henderson won Batter of the Month for April, batting .283-6-17.  He completed a 20-game hitting streak and hit for the cycle on Apr. 15.
 
League Signs TV Pact with NBC
NEW YORK (Apr. 10) -- League officials hammered out the last details of a five-year $1.75 billion TV contract with NBC Sports today.  The network will pay $350 million per year for exclusive national broadcast rights beginning in 1974, up from the current national TV contract of $265 million per year.  NBC will broadcast the "UL Game of the Week" and "This Week in UL" every Saturday afternoon, and will also introduce "Thursday Night Baseball".  The network is expected to favor divisional leaders and major markets in its broadcasts, but as in previous national TV contracts, the revenues will be split evenly among the UL's 14 clubs.  Factoring in next year's expansion, the net gain for each club will be just under $3 million.  Local TV revenues will be unaffected. 

The TV deal was delayed pending the conclusion of the collective bargaining agreement between players and owners.  The new CBA will increase the league minimum salary from $300k to $350k, restore three-year contracts for all rookie draft picks, and increase the salaries of late draft picks.  UL Players Association (ULPA) President Curt Flood said that the new pay scheme reflects growing concern among the majority of players that the UL's pay pyramid is increasing favoring veteran players raking in huge pay days during free agency, while the number of players earning the league minimum is at an all-time high.  Flood noted that the Frank Robinson contract was the last straw for many players.  "They feeling was if this dude with two broken legs gets 80 million bucks, then the league can afford to pay dude who are playing every day a bit more."

271 players currently qualify for the pay hike, roughly 45 percent of the league, and the cost of the increase is expected to be about $1 million per team.  Flood said, "given the financial windfall coming out of this massive TV deal, the PA felt it was only fair to allocate some of the spoils to the league's lowest earners.  These dudes are practically indentured servants, and most of them have to suffer the extra indignity of having to play in shitholes like Baltimore.  I mean, give a guy a break."  The Mayor of Baltimore was unavailable for comment.

Here is a summary of all the pending rules changes:

National TV revenue: increases from $22.1 million to $25 million per team.  Impact: each team's total revenues increase by $2.9 million.
Minimum salary: increases from $300k to $350k (all players earning 349 and less will be bumped up to 350 starting next year.  Impact: varies by team, but the raise affects an average of 22 players per team, for an average payroll impact of $1.1 million.
Salaries for 4th round draft picks: increases from $300k to $350k.  [Note: the rookie draft will be 4 rounds starting in 1974.]
Rookie contracts: will increase from one-year to three years.

Note: I have added a line at the bottom of each team's Contracts page listing to show how many players from each team qualify for the pay hike.  All changes will go into effect in October, after the World Series and before the expansion draft.