Hot stove league

The term has also come to refer to the wave of MLB player transactions (contract negotiations, re-signings, trades, free agency, etc.)

[4] Hardy states that the term was popularly employed by sportswriters until World War II, after which rural America gave way to larger, urban centers.

Baseball analysis and conversation became the province of radio and television commentators, with off-season chatter becoming less interactive and more impersonal.

[6] The hot stove league was especially important in the era of the reserve clause, when the only leverage a player had to receive more money or better contract provisions was to hold out from re-signing, refuse to play, or threaten to retire.

During the off-season, when contract negotiations were underway, the rumors and reports were frequent, and fans kept up with the news through hot stove league chatter.