ALT Gary Serum as signed by the Twins out of a 1975 tryout camp (one of only three such signees to reach the majors for Minnesota) Debuted July 22, 1977 and retired six straight Angels after the first batter singled Went 9-9 with a 4.10 ERA in 34 games (23 starts) in 1978 Threw a five-hitter in his first start and a two-hit shutout of the Blue Jays on Aug. 19 Finished 10-12 with a 4.72 ERA and 125 strikeouts in 62 games Tryout camp to Metropolitan Stadium in two years. @mlb @mlbpa

ALT Funding annual stipends for all 466 surviving pre-1980 non-vested Major League ballplayers requires between 0.83% and 1.33% of MLB's 2026 Competitive Balance Tax (CBT) pool. Stipend & Benefit Breakdown - Quarterly Rate: $718.75 per quarter of accrued service time. That is 43 MLB roster days. - Average Accrual: ~10 quarters across an average of ~2.6 seasons. - Average Payout: $7,187.50 per player annually. - Maximum Cap: 16 quarters ($11,500 annually). - Survivor Protections: $0.00 — payments end immediately upon death, providing no surviving spouse or family benefit. With luxury tax collections surpassing $402 million in 2026, fully funding these non-vested pioneers accounts for less than 1.4 cents of every tax dollar paid by high-spending clubs. With an average age of 79 and zero death benefits available to surviving families, resolving this pension disparity represents an urgently diminishing window of opportunity for @mlb and @mpbpa #postseason

ALT Chicago White Sox lead the Bitter Cup list with the most pre-1980 non-vested players with 44. Cubs and Cardinals are right behind them at 41. Expansion clubs like the Blue Jays and Mariners have the fewest. These men helped build the modern game and union but got left behind when vesting dropped to 43 days in 1980. The last 9 Major League Collective Bargaining Agreements (80, 85, 90, 96/97, 02, 06, 11, 16, 22) still do not treat these men on equal terms. Same union. Same dues. Different outcome. #postseason

ALT @mlb @mlbpa #postseason

ALT @mlb @mlbpa #postseason September 12, 1977. A 27-year-old first baseman from Elmhurst makes his Giants debut against Atlanta. Skip James goes 0-for-1. Days later he delivers a game-winning two-run single against the Dodgers. He had already spent years in the Pacific Coast League. California League MVP in 1972. .308 with a .499 slugging percentage for Phoenix in 1977. Fifty-one games with San Francisco. .167. Six hits. Six RBI. In 1980 he goes to Japan and hits .269 with 21 home runs for the Yokohama Taiyo Whales. Two inside-the-park home runs, a single-season NPB record. His first Japanese home run comes off Suguru Egawa. They start calling him the Egawa killer. The majors got the pinch-hitter. Japan got the power.