Major league baseball and anti-trust exemption? Please explain?

[Knighted Vorpal Sword]

Can anyone explain, in clear, understandable terms, what an anti-trust exemption is, and how it relates to major league baseball?

[yabob]

It stems from a court ruling in the 1920's when a third league, the Federal League, folded and sued Major League Baseball (MLB) under anti-trust laws:

http://mysql.turbolift.com/emkey/Article024.php3

The court ruled that MLB was not interstate commerce (!), and not subject to antitrust laws.

Congress revoked the exemption as it applies to labor practices, but it still stands regarding other decisions such as team relocation.

An interesting quip from that article:

Do the other ML sports have the same exemption? No, though Congress did pass a law that allows all sports leagues to be exempt from anti-trust in their negotiations for national broadcasting contracts.