Heinie Meine - Holdout Season of 1932

Holdout Season of 1932

In 1932, Meine was a holdout, refusing to accept the contract terms offered by the Pirates and declining to report to spring training in Paso Robles, California with the rest of the team. Meine's holdout continued into May, making him the last player continuing to hold out for better contract terms. On May 16, 1932, The Pittsburgh Press referred to Meine as the "obstinate Pittsburgh holdout" and reported that the Pirates were trying to strike a deal to send Meine to the Brooklyn Dodgers. Meine ultimately reached terms with the Pirates in late May. After his holdout, Grantland Rice reported that Meine was being paid $11,500 for the year. Rice wrote a column praising Meine:

"Meine was the hardest working pitcher in the National League last season. He hurled 22 complete games, worked 284 innings, won 19 games against 13 lost, and yielded an earned run average of 2.98. And all of this he did with a fifth place club."

When he led the Pirates to a 2–1 victory over Brooklyn in June 1932, The New York Times opened its game coverage as follows: "Heine Meine came to Ebbets Field with the Pirates yesterday and gave 18,000 fans an exhibition of his very best pitching by holding the Carey clan to five hits in seven innings." Meine compiled a 12–9 record and a 3.86 ERA in 1932.