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June 24, 2009

On the Beat

Mid-Week Update

by John Perrotto

Don Fehr is a hard person to like. In my dealings with him over the years, I've found him to be aloof, condescending, and downright cold. At the same time, he is brilliant, dogged, and extremely loyal. And if I were ever a member of a labor union or trade association, I would want him representing me at the bargaining table.

On Monday Fehr announced that he is stepping down as the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association after 27 years on the job. The 61-year-old plans to leave by no later than next March, and will likely be replaced by Michael Weiner, the third-highest ranking official in the MLBPA as its general counsel. The blue jeans-wearing Weiner's ascension is pending the approval of the MLBPA's executive board, and it is expected to be a rubber stamp since he is Fehr's choice as successor. "I had an extraordinary opportunity, and I hope I was a credit to the organization, and I hope the players believe they were better off for my having been here than not," said Fehr. "To the extent that we've had success over this period of time, and I think we have, the responsibility rests primarily with the membership."

Both Fehr's supporters and his detractors, however, know that is not entirely true. Fehr has always been in control of the MLBPA, and he had a way of keeping dissident players in line, including never holding any private votes to determine such matters as whether or not to strike. His preference for a show-of-hands vote ensured the constituency would do what he wanted by way of peer pressure.

It's not that Fehr's methods didn't work. The average annual player salary was $289,000 when Fehr replaced Marvin Miller, the MLBPA's original executive director and the man who gained many basic rights for the players. It is now at $2.9 million.

Fehr also fought the owners through two lockouts and the 242-day players' strike that wiped out the 1994 postseason and nearly saw the 1995 season begin with replacement players. In the end, the MLBPA won each time, refusing to cede to the owners' demands for such concessions as a salary cap or the elimination of the salary arbitration system. "The one thing about Don, is that he never backed down on his principles," said former major league shortstop Jay Bell, who was part of the MLBPA executive board during the strike. "The strike was a very difficult thing to go through, but he fought for what we all believed in. He never gave in to the pressure of just making a deal because he knew it wouldn't have been good for the players or baseball in general."