of twentieth century dancers from the point of
view of the early twenty-first century.
Garis, Robert. “Millennium: The Years of Peace.” In
Following Balanchine. New Haven, Conn.: Yale
University Press, 1995. Covers the most relevant
events preceding and following Balanchine’s
death.
Reynolds, Nancy, and Malcolm McCormick. “Bal-
let’s High Tide.” InNo Fixed Points: Dance in the
Twentieth Centur y.New Haven, Conn.: Yale Uni-
versity Press, 2003. Covers the major develop-
ments at ABT, New York City Ballet, and regional
ballet companies during the 1980’s.
Roseman, Janet Lynn. “Alonzo King.” InDance Mas-
ters: Interviews with Legends of Dance. New York:
Routledge, 2001. Includes a discussion of King’s
work and a lengthy interview in which the chore-
ographer expresses his dance philosophy.
Solway, Diane.A Dance Against Time.New York: Si-
mon & Schuster, 1994. Provides a detailed and
personal account of the impact AIDS had on
members of the Joffrey Ballet.
Sylvia P. Baeza
See also Classical music; Dance, popular; Glass,
Philip; Homosexuality and gay rights; Jazz; Music;
Theater.
Baseball
Definition Professional team sport
Major League Baseball suffered a tarnished image during
the 1980’s, as a player’s strike and a gambling scandal in-
volving star player Pete Rose disillusioned fans. Nonethe-
less, by decade’s end, attendance levels had recovered, and
the fans had largely decided to continue watching profes-
sional games, albeit with a more jaded attitude than they
had had at the beginning of the 1980’s.
During the 1980’s, Major League Baseball team own-
ers and players enjoyed considerable economic
prosperity. Record-setting attendance as well as lu-
crative media contracts favored owners, whereas in-
creased salaries favored players. In the midst of these
prosperous economic conditions, however, conflicts
developed between labor and management. Player
strikes and collusion on the part of owners came to
the surface during the decade. In addition to labor
confrontations, baseball’s leadership had to deal
with drug abuse among athletes and unethical con-
duct by one of its outstanding players, Pete Rose.
Four individuals would serve as baseball commis-
sioner during the decade, and on February 3, 1989,
Bill White became the president of the National
League, making him the highest-ranking African
American sports executive ever.
Major League Baseball recorded several all-time
performance records in the 1980’s: Pete Rose sur-
passed Ty Cobb as the all-time hits leader, and two
pitchers, Nolan Ryan and Steve Carlton, moved
ahead of Walter Johnson to become all-time strike-
out leaders. An earthquake on October 17, 1989,
forced the cancellation of game three of the 1989
World Series between the San Francisco Giants and
the Oakland Athletics. On August 8, 1988, Chicago’s
Wrigley Field hosted the first night game in its his-
tory. On April 3, 1985, the League Championship
Series changed from a best-of-five-games competi-
tion to a best-of-seven-games competition. On July
13, 1982, the first All-Star Game outside the United
States was played in Montreal’s Olympic Stadium.Labor and Management Relations Free agency,
which had become part of baseball’s landscape in
the 1970’s, caused considerable disagreement be-
tween owners and players in the 1980’s. On three oc-
casions during the decade, negotiations between the
Major League Baseball Players Association and the
owners of the major-league teams resulted in work
stoppages by players. As the 1980 season was begin-
ning to open, players and owners had not come to an
agreement over labor issues. As a result, players con-
ducted a walkout of spring training on April 1, 1980.
The players agreed to open the season but warned
that they would strike on May 23 if their demands
were not met. On May 23, players and owners agreed
on all but one issue, free agency. The issue of free
agency was tabled until the 1981 season.
Near the end of the spring of 1981, an agreement
on free agency had yet to be reached. The owners
wanted to receive compensation if they lost free-agent
players to other teams. Specifically, they wanted to in-
stitute a rule stating that a team that lost a free agent
would in return receive players from the middle of
the roster of the team that acquired the free agent.
The players found such mandatory trading unaccept-
able, because they believed it would make teams less
willing to sign free agents, who would therefore com-
mand less money when they were signed.90 Baseball The Eighties in America