On March 30, 1995, our nation was hurting. A vital portion of our country had been shut down for 229 days. Many workers in cities across the country had been going without paychecks. Congress and the president had attempted to find a solution and failed. To the surprise of many, an obscure federal judge, 15 minutes after a hearing, enjoined the most aggressive shutdown tactics. Three days later, the parties had reached an agreement, and that shutdown was over.

I refer to the 1994-1995 baseball shutdown. Before March 30, 1995, the players and owners were entrenched in their own agendas and pride. In addition, President Bill Clinton and Congress had failed to agree on a statute that would have ordered binding arbitration. Many clubhouse personnel, ticket-takers, food vendors and security personnel had lost paychecks.