Got a note from Doug about his book. Â I’m not educated on this subject but it seems interesting to me, so I thought I’d link:
Good evening. My name is Douglas J. Gladstone, and I am the author of the new book, A Bitter Cup of Coffee; How MLB & The Players Association Threw 874 Retirees A Curve. With a foreword written by the Emmy Award-winning broadcast journalist, Dave Marash, A Bitter Cup of Coffee tells the true story of a group of former big-league ballplayers denied pensions as a result of the failure of both the league and the union to retroactively amend the vesting requirement change that granted instant pension eligibility to ballplayers in 1980. As you may know, prior to that year, ballplayers had to have four years service credit to earn an annuity and medical benefits. Since 1980, however, all you have needed is one day of service credit for health insurance and 43 days of service credit for a pension.
Three of the ex-major leaguers profiled in the book are ex-Mets George “The Stork” Theodore and Rod “HotRod” Gaspar. Both long retired, Mr. Theodore is a school guidance counselor working for the Granite School District, in Utah, while Mr. Gaspar sells insurance in Mission Viejo, California. Another former Met, third baseman Roy Staiger, of Oklahoma, is also one of the retirees affected by this situation.
Let me know if this interests you guys, I might be able to interview George Theodore.
