Baltimore Orioles, Inc. v. Major League Baseball Players Association
805 F.2d 663 (7th Cir. 1986) - full text opinion
This is not the only time that baseball players and club owners have not seen eye-to-eye. In fact, the sport has a long tradition of strikes, freeze-outs and other labor disagreements. The most recent strike in baseball occurred during the 1994-95 season that resulted in the cancellation of the World Series that year.
For more information on rights of publicity, there are plenty of good websites to explore.