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| | | June 25 - For the past quarter of a century, Donald Fehr has been executive director of the Major League Baseball Players' Association, a position that brought much praise as well as criticism, but whatever Fehr's strengths and flaws, one thing is for sure and that is he will undoubtedly be missed, even by his detractors.
Yes, even by his detractors, as over the last few years Fehr had become an 'easy target' for them. Particularly regarding the Association's unwillingness to support the implementation of routine drug testing in MLB, which would go a long way to help eradicate the use of illicit performance-enhancing drugs in the sport.
But when all is said and done, and baseball fans look back at Donald Fehr's tenure with unbiased and neutral eyes, most would surely agree that he has done more good than bad, and served Major League Baseball well. In his 25 years, he admirably succeeded in bridging the gap between the owners and the players.
One of the occasions where Fehr shone the brightest was during the nightmarish 232-day strike in 1994 and 1995. It was his responsibility to get both sides - the owners and players - to 'wake up and smell the coffee', which thanks to the invaluable assistance of then U.S. District Judge, Sonia Sotomayor, he did.
Sotomayor famously upheld the charge of MLB players that baseball's owners had pretty much bargained in bad faith. And despite this victory giving Fehr ample opportunity to boast about brokering a deal that did not involve salary caps, he chose instead to be humble and courteous on behalf of all involved.
Fehr was famously quoted as saying, 'I would like to think everyone will remember what we all went through in 1994 and do their level best to avoid it happening again.' It was this ability to remain humble that endeared him to many during his time as the head of the Major League Baseball Players' Association.
He will also be remembered for helping to increase the average MLB salary from $329,000 to $3.3 million, and the minimum salary from $40,000 to the current $400,000. In terms of his replacement, MLB Players' association general counsel, Michael Weiner, is expected to take over, pending board approval.
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| | 6/24/2009 10:40:35 PM |
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