R.I.P. Marvin Miller

Marvin Miller never played an inning of major or minor league baseball but he was one of the most influential people in the history of the game.  Miller, who died November 27 at age 95, served as the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, from 1966 to 1982.  During his tenure as head of the player’s union, salaries skyrocketed, the reserve clause was thrown out  allowing players to become free agents and negotiate their best deal with any club, salary arbitration was introduced, and a lucrative pension system was funded.  There were player strikes, notably in 1972 and 1981, but the players came out ahead when the disputes were resolved.

Miller had previously worked for machinists, autoworkers, and steelworkers unions, and at the time he became head of the players’ union, owners ran their teams like little fiefdoms and the players had almost no say in the matter.  Inevitably, Miller was portrayed by the owners as the baseball antichrist, although at the end of the day, they more or less caved in labor disputes.  Why?  Because the game began to flourish at that time, with increased TV money and attendance, as well as expansion to new markets.  The last baseball strike was in 1994 (after Miller retired) and with expanded playoffs, merchandise licensing, the MLB Network and website, and near record attendance every season, cooperation is working better than confrontation, unlike other unionized sports (yes, you NHL, and you last year NBA) where the two sides can’t figure out how to divide a giant pot of money.

There are baseball people out there who say Marvin Miller should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame as an executive.  His name has come up before but he’s not been voted in.  His next chance will be in 2013, but because a lot of executives do the voting for those who are inducted as executives, don’t count on him getting in anytime soon.   Executive types and club owners will never vote a labor leader into the Hall.   But if the voters included players, it would be a different story.