starts with the Expos, he had a 3–6 record, a 5.24 ERA, 36 strikeouts, 36 walks, and 88 hits allowed in innings. Expos sportscaster Jacques Doucet called the trade for McNally the Expos' most "lopsided," noting that Kirkpatrick never reached the major leagues and Coggins appeared in only 13 games for the ballclub. 1975 free agent labor grievance McNally is known for his role in the historic Seitz decision which led to the downfall of Major League Baseball's (MLB) reserve clause, ushering in the current era of free agency. McNally and Andy Messersmith were the only two players in 1975 playing on the one-year reserve clause in effect at the time. Neither had signed a contract, but both were held with their teams under the rule. The two challenged the rule and won free agency. McNally retired in June 1975, and he had no intention of actually claiming free agency. According to John Helyar's book The Lords of the Realm, players' union executive director Marvin Miller asked McNally to add his name to the grievance filed in opposition to the reserve clause, and he agreed. Miller thought of McNally, Helyar wrote, as "insurance" in the event that Messersmith decided to sign a new contract. The MLB wanted McNally's name off the grievance, so the Expos offered him a $25,000 ($ today) signing bonus and a $125,000 ($ today) contract if he made the team. McNally declined. The MLB hoped that Messersmith would also sign a contract, eliminating the challenge. Miller corroborated Helyar's account in his 1991 memoir, A Whole Different Ballgame. Miller explained that while Messersmith was the primary test case, as he was still in the prime of his career in 1975, he wanted McNally to add his name to the grievance because he was under the assumption that Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley would end up signing Messersmith to a contract before the grievance could be decided under binding arbitration. McNally, who had been a Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) player rep during his time with the Orioles, was working as a Ford dealer in Billings, when Miller contacted him about joining the Messersmith grievance. McNally agreed, which meant that even if the Dodgers signed Messersmith to a contract, the grievance would go forward. As Miller wrote ironically, "McNally had been a starter for fourteen years, but the last act of his career was to serve in arbitration