You’ve probably sat there a few times wondering exactly what no-trade clauses are, rather, why players have them in their contracts. Well, the long answer is, so the player can decide to what teams he’d allow himself to be dealt, or to ensure he’s not dealt at all. The short answer is, Matt Morris.
Matt Morris may have been traded from a last place team to a last place team, but it wasn’t quite that simple. He went from a booming metropolis in San Francisco, to an industrial town in Pittsburgh. He went from a large market, high payroll team in the Giants, to a small market, low-budge team like the Pirates. He went from being teammates with a man poised to break baseball’s greatest record, to being teammates with a guy poised to star in Jackass III. In one day, Matt Morris went from a bad, but manageable situation, to a nightmare.
Memo to all you players out there (because so many of you read this site): this is why you include no-trade clauses in your contract — so you don’t get dealt to East Bum**ck hell in the baseball world on the day of the deadline — Pittsburgh. Matt Morris is why you need a no-trade clause, my friends.
