Major League Baseball Players

Association
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
MLBPA

Full name
Founded
Members
Key people
Office
location
Country
Website

Major League Baseball Players

Association
1953
1200
Tony Clark, executive director
New York, NY
United States, Canada
mlbplayers.com

The Major League Baseball Players Association (or MLBPA) is the union of
professional major-league baseball players.

Contents

1 History of MLBPA
o 1.1 The Marvin Miller era
o 1.2 Recent history
1.2.1 Salary Cap
1.2.2 Steroids
2 Leadership
o 2.1 President
o 2.2 Executive Director
3 References
4 External links
5 Further reading

History of MLBPA

The MLBPA was not the first attempt to unionize baseball players. Earlier attempts had
included:

Brotherhood of Professional Baseball Players - 1885 (founded by John Montgomery

Ward)[1]
Players' Protective Association - 1900[2]
Fraternity of Professional Baseball Players of America - 1912
National Baseball Players Association of the United States - 1922 (founded by
Raymond Joseph Cannon)
The American Baseball Guild 1946 (founded by labor lawyer Robert Murphy)

The Marvin Miller era

The MLBPA was created in 1953. In 1966, the union hired Marvin Miller from the United
Steel Workers of America to head the organization, serving as Executive Director until
1983. In 1968, Miller negotiated the first collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the
team owners, which raised the minimum salary from $6,000 to $10,000 per year. The 1970
CBA included arbitration to resolve disputes.[2] In 1972 the major leagues saw their first
player strike, in opposition to the owners' refusal to increase player pension funds.
In 1974, when owner Charlie Finley failed to make a $50,000 payment into an insurance
annuity as called for in Catfish Hunter's contract, the MLBPA took the case to arbitration.
The arbitrator ruled that Hunter could be a free agent.[3]
During Miller's tenure, base salaries, pension funds, licensing rights and revenues were
increased, laying the groundwork that helped create what is widely considered one of the
strongest unions in the country.[citation needed] Miller challenged the reserve clause which was
used by team owners to bind players to one team. The strength of the union was
immeasurably increased by the creation of the modern free agent system following the
Seitz decision in 1975.
Players and owners failed to come to terms over free agent compensation, which led to
another strike in 1981. In the late 1980s and early 1990s the MLBPA filed collusion
charges, arguing that team owners had violated the collective bargaining agreement in the
19851987 seasons. The MLBPA won each case, resulting in "second look" free agents,
and over $269 million in owner fines.[4]

Recent history
Donald Fehr joined the MLBPA as general counsel in 1977 and was named executive
director in 1985, leading it through the 1994 Major League Baseball strike and recent
issues.
On June 22, 2009, Fehr announced he would step down, and after a transition period, would
be replaced by the union's general counsel, Michael Weiner.[5]

On November 21, 2013, MLBPA Executive Director Michael Weiner died after a 15-month
battle with a non-operable brain tumor. He was 51 years old. Tony Clark, the Deputy
Executive Director, was named Executive Director on December 2, 2013, the first former
major league player to hold the position.[6]
Salary Cap
As of 2014, Major League Baseball is the only major professional sports league in the
U.S.A that does not have a salary cap; the MLS, NHL, NBA and NFL all implement some
sort of salary cap.
Steroids
See also: Banned substances in baseball in the United States
The MLBPA was initially opposed to random steroid testing, claiming it to be a violation
of the privacy of players. After enormous negative publicity surrounding the alleged or
actual involvement of several star players in the BALCO steroid scandal, the players
dropped their opposition to a steroid testing program and developed a consensus that
favored testing. Under pressure from US Congress which threatened to pass a law if the
MLB's drug policy was not strengthened, the baseball union agreed in 2005 to a stricter
policy that would include 50-game, 100-game, and lifetime suspensions.[7]

Leadership
President

Bob Feller: 19561959

Executive Director

Frank Scott: May 1, 1959 1966

Marvin Miller: July 1, 1966 December 9, 1982
Ken Moffett: December 9, 1982 November 22, 1983
Marvin Miller (Interim): November 22, 1983 December 9, 1983
Donald Fehr (Acting): December 9, 1983 December 1985;
Donald Fehr: December 1985 2009
Michael Weiner: June 22, 2009 November 21, 2013
Tony Clark: December 2, 2013 Present

References
1.
Spalding, Albert G. (1911). American National Game.

 "History of the Major League Baseball Players Association". mlbplayers.mlb.com.

Catfish Hunter
The Economic History of Major League Baseball Michael J. Haupert, University of
Wisconsin -- La Crosse
"Fehr to Leave Job Held Since 1985". ESPN.com. 22 June 2009.
http://news.yahoo.com/clark-1st-ex-big-leaguer-run-mlb-players-224007260-spt.html;_ylt=A2KJ2UhiZp5SM1IAQ5XQtDMD
7. "MLBPA/MLB joint announcement". MLBPA. 2005-11-15. Retrieved 2007-0321.

External links
Baseball portal
Organized labour portal

www.mlbplayers.com
The early days of free agency by Darren Rovell

Further reading

Helyar, John. (1994). Lords of the Realm: The Real History of Baseball. New York:
Villard. ISBN 0-679-41197-6.
Korr, Charles P. (2002). The End of Baseball as We Knew It: The Players Union,
196081. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-02752-3.
[show]

v
t
e

Major League Baseball (2015)

[show]

v
t
e

North American Major League Sports Player Associations

Categories:

Major League Baseball labor relations

Sports trade unions of the United States
Baseball organizations
Trade unions established in 1953
1953 establishments in the United States
1953 establishments in Canada

Navigation menu

Create account
Log in

Article
Talk

Read
Edit
View history

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Contents
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Print/export

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Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages

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Portugus

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This page was last modified on 13 January 2015, at 23:22.

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License;
additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and
Privacy Policy. Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation,
Inc., a non-profit organization.

Major League Baseball Players

Association
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
MLBPA

Full name
Founded
Members
Key people
Office
location
Country

Major League Baseball Players

Association
1953
1200
Tony Clark, executive director
New York, NY
United States, Canada

Website

mlbplayers.com

The Major League Baseball Players Association (or MLBPA) is the union of
professional major-league baseball players.

Contents

1 History of MLBPA
o 1.1 The Marvin Miller era
o 1.2 Recent history
1.2.1 Salary Cap
1.2.2 Steroids
2 Leadership
o 2.1 President
o 2.2 Executive Director
3 References
4 External links
5 Further reading

History of MLBPA
The MLBPA was not the first attempt to unionize baseball players. Earlier attempts had
included:

Brotherhood of Professional Baseball Players - 1885 (founded by John Montgomery

Ward)[1]
Players' Protective Association - 1900[2]
Fraternity of Professional Baseball Players of America - 1912
National Baseball Players Association of the United States - 1922 (founded by
Raymond Joseph Cannon)
The American Baseball Guild 1946 (founded by labor lawyer Robert Murphy)

The Marvin Miller era

The MLBPA was created in 1953. In 1966, the union hired Marvin Miller from the United
Steel Workers of America to head the organization, serving as Executive Director until
1983. In 1968, Miller negotiated the first collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the
team owners, which raised the minimum salary from $6,000 to $10,000 per year. The 1970
CBA included arbitration to resolve disputes.[2] In 1972 the major leagues saw their first
player strike, in opposition to the owners' refusal to increase player pension funds.
In 1974, when owner Charlie Finley failed to make a $50,000 payment into an insurance
annuity as called for in Catfish Hunter's contract, the MLBPA took the case to arbitration.
The arbitrator ruled that Hunter could be a free agent.[3]

During Miller's tenure, base salaries, pension funds, licensing rights and revenues were
increased, laying the groundwork that helped create what is widely considered one of the
strongest unions in the country.[citation needed] Miller challenged the reserve clause which was
used by team owners to bind players to one team. The strength of the union was
immeasurably increased by the creation of the modern free agent system following the
Seitz decision in 1975.
Players and owners failed to come to terms over free agent compensation, which led to
another strike in 1981. In the late 1980s and early 1990s the MLBPA filed collusion
charges, arguing that team owners had violated the collective bargaining agreement in the
19851987 seasons. The MLBPA won each case, resulting in "second look" free agents,
and over $269 million in owner fines.[4]

Recent history
Donald Fehr joined the MLBPA as general counsel in 1977 and was named executive
director in 1985, leading it through the 1994 Major League Baseball strike and recent
issues.
On June 22, 2009, Fehr announced he would step down, and after a transition period, would
be replaced by the union's general counsel, Michael Weiner.[5]
On November 21, 2013, MLBPA Executive Director Michael Weiner died after a 15-month
battle with a non-operable brain tumor. He was 51 years old. Tony Clark, the Deputy
Executive Director, was named Executive Director on December 2, 2013, the first former
major league player to hold the position.[6]
Salary Cap
As of 2014, Major League Baseball is the only major professional sports league in the
U.S.A that does not have a salary cap; the MLS, NHL, NBA and NFL all implement some
sort of salary cap.
Steroids
See also: Banned substances in baseball in the United States
The MLBPA was initially opposed to random steroid testing, claiming it to be a violation
of the privacy of players. After enormous negative publicity surrounding the alleged or
actual involvement of several star players in the BALCO steroid scandal, the players
dropped their opposition to a steroid testing program and developed a consensus that
favored testing. Under pressure from US Congress which threatened to pass a law if the
MLB's drug policy was not strengthened, the baseball union agreed in 2005 to a stricter
policy that would include 50-game, 100-game, and lifetime suspensions.[7]

Leadership

President

Bob Feller: 19561959

Executive Director

Frank Scott: May 1, 1959 1966

Marvin Miller: July 1, 1966 December 9, 1982
Ken Moffett: December 9, 1982 November 22, 1983
Marvin Miller (Interim): November 22, 1983 December 9, 1983
Donald Fehr (Acting): December 9, 1983 December 1985;
Donald Fehr: December 1985 2009
Michael Weiner: June 22, 2009 November 21, 2013
Tony Clark: December 2, 2013 Present

References
1.
Spalding, Albert G. (1911). American National Game.
"History of the Major League Baseball Players Association". mlbplayers.mlb.com.
Catfish Hunter
The Economic History of Major League Baseball Michael J. Haupert, University of
Wisconsin -- La Crosse
"Fehr to Leave Job Held Since 1985". ESPN.com. 22 June 2009.
http://news.yahoo.com/clark-1st-ex-big-leaguer-run-mlb-players-224007260-spt.html;_ylt=A2KJ2UhiZp5SM1IAQ5XQtDMD
7. "MLBPA/MLB joint announcement". MLBPA. 2005-11-15. Retrieved 2007-0321.

External links
Baseball portal
Organized labour portal

www.mlbplayers.com
The early days of free agency by Darren Rovell

Further reading

Helyar, John. (1994). Lords of the Realm: The Real History of Baseball. New York:
Villard. ISBN 0-679-41197-6.
Korr, Charles P. (2002). The End of Baseball as We Knew It: The Players Union,
196081. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-02752-3.
[show]

v
t
e

Major League Baseball (2015)

[show]

v
t
e

North American Major League Sports Player Associations

Categories:

Major League Baseball labor relations

Sports trade unions of the United States
Baseball organizations
Trade unions established in 1953
1953 establishments in the United States
1953 establishments in Canada

Navigation menu

Create account
Log in

Article
Talk

Read
Edit
View history

Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events

Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikimedia Shop

Interaction

Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages

Franais

Portugus

Edit links

This page was last modified on 13 January 2015, at 23:22.

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License;
additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and
Privacy Policy. Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation,
Inc., a non-profit organization.

Major League Baseball Players

Association
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
MLBPA

Full name
Founded
Members
Key people
Office
location
Country
Website

Major League Baseball Players

Association
1953
1200
Tony Clark, executive director
New York, NY
United States, Canada
mlbplayers.com

The Major League Baseball Players Association (or MLBPA) is the union of
professional major-league baseball players.

Contents

1 History of MLBPA
o 1.1 The Marvin Miller era
o 1.2 Recent history
1.2.1 Salary Cap
1.2.2 Steroids
2 Leadership
o 2.1 President
o 2.2 Executive Director
3 References
4 External links
5 Further reading

History of MLBPA

The MLBPA was not the first attempt to unionize baseball players. Earlier attempts had
included:

Brotherhood of Professional Baseball Players - 1885 (founded by John Montgomery

Ward)[1]
Players' Protective Association - 1900[2]
Fraternity of Professional Baseball Players of America - 1912
National Baseball Players Association of the United States - 1922 (founded by
Raymond Joseph Cannon)
The American Baseball Guild 1946 (founded by labor lawyer Robert Murphy)

The Marvin Miller era

The MLBPA was created in 1953. In 1966, the union hired Marvin Miller from the United
Steel Workers of America to head the organization, serving as Executive Director until
1983. In 1968, Miller negotiated the first collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the
team owners, which raised the minimum salary from $6,000 to $10,000 per year. The 1970
CBA included arbitration to resolve disputes.[2] In 1972 the major leagues saw their first
player strike, in opposition to the owners' refusal to increase player pension funds.
In 1974, when owner Charlie Finley failed to make a $50,000 payment into an insurance
annuity as called for in Catfish Hunter's contract, the MLBPA took the case to arbitration.
The arbitrator ruled that Hunter could be a free agent.[3]
During Miller's tenure, base salaries, pension funds, licensing rights and revenues were
increased, laying the groundwork that helped create what is widely considered one of the
strongest unions in the country.[citation needed] Miller challenged the reserve clause which was
used by team owners to bind players to one team. The strength of the union was
immeasurably increased by the creation of the modern free agent system following the
Seitz decision in 1975.
Players and owners failed to come to terms over free agent compensation, which led to
another strike in 1981. In the late 1980s and early 1990s the MLBPA filed collusion
charges, arguing that team owners had violated the collective bargaining agreement in the
19851987 seasons. The MLBPA won each case, resulting in "second look" free agents,
and over $269 million in owner fines.[4]

Recent history
Donald Fehr joined the MLBPA as general counsel in 1977 and was named executive
director in 1985, leading it through the 1994 Major League Baseball strike and recent
issues.
On June 22, 2009, Fehr announced he would step down, and after a transition period, would
be replaced by the union's general counsel, Michael Weiner.[5]

On November 21, 2013, MLBPA Executive Director Michael Weiner died after a 15-month
battle with a non-operable brain tumor. He was 51 years old. Tony Clark, the Deputy
Executive Director, was named Executive Director on December 2, 2013, the first former
major league player to hold the position.[6]
Salary Cap
As of 2014, Major League Baseball is the only major professional sports league in the
U.S.A that does not have a salary cap; the MLS, NHL, NBA and NFL all implement some
sort of salary cap.
Steroids
See also: Banned substances in baseball in the United States
The MLBPA was initially opposed to random steroid testing, claiming it to be a violation
of the privacy of players. After enormous negative publicity surrounding the alleged or
actual involvement of several star players in the BALCO steroid scandal, the players
dropped their opposition to a steroid testing program and developed a consensus that
favored testing. Under pressure from US Congress which threatened to pass a law if the
MLB's drug policy was not strengthened, the baseball union agreed in 2005 to a stricter
policy that would include 50-game, 100-game, and lifetime suspensions.[7]

Leadership
President

Bob Feller: 19561959

Executive Director

Frank Scott: May 1, 1959 1966

Marvin Miller: July 1, 1966 December 9, 1982
Ken Moffett: December 9, 1982 November 22, 1983
Marvin Miller (Interim): November 22, 1983 December 9, 1983
Donald Fehr (Acting): December 9, 1983 December 1985;
Donald Fehr: December 1985 2009
Michael Weiner: June 22, 2009 November 21, 2013
Tony Clark: December 2, 2013 Present

References
1.
Spalding, Albert G. (1911). American National Game.

 "History of the Major League Baseball Players Association". mlbplayers.mlb.com.

Catfish Hunter
The Economic History of Major League Baseball Michael J. Haupert, University of
Wisconsin -- La Crosse
"Fehr to Leave Job Held Since 1985". ESPN.com. 22 June 2009.
http://news.yahoo.com/clark-1st-ex-big-leaguer-run-mlb-players-224007260-spt.html;_ylt=A2KJ2UhiZp5SM1IAQ5XQtDMD
7. "MLBPA/MLB joint announcement". MLBPA. 2005-11-15. Retrieved 2007-0321.

External links
Baseball portal
Organized labour portal

www.mlbplayers.com
The early days of free agency by Darren Rovell

Further reading

Helyar, John. (1994). Lords of the Realm: The Real History of Baseball. New York:
Villard. ISBN 0-679-41197-6.
Korr, Charles P. (2002). The End of Baseball as We Knew It: The Players Union,
196081. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-02752-3.
[show]

v
t
e

Major League Baseball (2015)

[show]

v
t
e

North American Major League Sports Player Associations

Categories:

Major League Baseball labor relations

Sports trade unions of the United States
Baseball organizations
Trade unions established in 1953
1953 establishments in the United States
1953 establishments in Canada

Navigation menu

Create account
Log in

Article
Talk

Read
Edit
View history

Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikimedia Shop

Interaction

Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages

Franais

Portugus

Edit links

This page was last modified on 13 January 2015, at 23:22.

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License;
additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and
Privacy Policy. Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation,
Inc., a non-profit organization.

Major League Baseball Players

Association
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
MLBPA

Full name
Founded
Members
Key people
Office
location
Country

Major League Baseball Players

Association
1953
1200
Tony Clark, executive director
New York, NY
United States, Canada

Website

mlbplayers.com

The Major League Baseball Players Association (or MLBPA) is the union of
professional major-league baseball players.

Contents

1 History of MLBPA
o 1.1 The Marvin Miller era
o 1.2 Recent history
1.2.1 Salary Cap
1.2.2 Steroids
2 Leadership
o 2.1 President
o 2.2 Executive Director
3 References
4 External links
5 Further reading

History of MLBPA
The MLBPA was not the first attempt to unionize baseball players. Earlier attempts had
included:

Brotherhood of Professional Baseball Players - 1885 (founded by John Montgomery

Ward)[1]
Players' Protective Association - 1900[2]
Fraternity of Professional Baseball Players of America - 1912
National Baseball Players Association of the United States - 1922 (founded by
Raymond Joseph Cannon)
The American Baseball Guild 1946 (founded by labor lawyer Robert Murphy)

The Marvin Miller era

The MLBPA was created in 1953. In 1966, the union hired Marvin Miller from the United
Steel Workers of America to head the organization, serving as Executive Director until
1983. In 1968, Miller negotiated the first collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the
team owners, which raised the minimum salary from $6,000 to $10,000 per year. The 1970
CBA included arbitration to resolve disputes.[2] In 1972 the major leagues saw their first
player strike, in opposition to the owners' refusal to increase player pension funds.
In 1974, when owner Charlie Finley failed to make a $50,000 payment into an insurance
annuity as called for in Catfish Hunter's contract, the MLBPA took the case to arbitration.
The arbitrator ruled that Hunter could be a free agent.[3]

During Miller's tenure, base salaries, pension funds, licensing rights and revenues were
increased, laying the groundwork that helped create what is widely considered one of the
strongest unions in the country.[citation needed] Miller challenged the reserve clause which was
used by team owners to bind players to one team. The strength of the union was
immeasurably increased by the creation of the modern free agent system following the
Seitz decision in 1975.
Players and owners failed to come to terms over free agent compensation, which led to
another strike in 1981. In the late 1980s and early 1990s the MLBPA filed collusion
charges, arguing that team owners had violated the collective bargaining agreement in the
19851987 seasons. The MLBPA won each case, resulting in "second look" free agents,
and over $269 million in owner fines.[4]

Recent history
Donald Fehr joined the MLBPA as general counsel in 1977 and was named executive
director in 1985, leading it through the 1994 Major League Baseball strike and recent
issues.
On June 22, 2009, Fehr announced he would step down, and after a transition period, would
be replaced by the union's general counsel, Michael Weiner.[5]
On November 21, 2013, MLBPA Executive Director Michael Weiner died after a 15-month
battle with a non-operable brain tumor. He was 51 years old. Tony Clark, the Deputy
Executive Director, was named Executive Director on December 2, 2013, the first former
major league player to hold the position.[6]
Salary Cap
As of 2014, Major League Baseball is the only major professional sports league in the
U.S.A that does not have a salary cap; the MLS, NHL, NBA and NFL all implement some
sort of salary cap.
Steroids
See also: Banned substances in baseball in the United States
The MLBPA was initially opposed to random steroid testing, claiming it to be a violation
of the privacy of players. After enormous negative publicity surrounding the alleged or
actual involvement of several star players in the BALCO steroid scandal, the players
dropped their opposition to a steroid testing program and developed a consensus that
favored testing. Under pressure from US Congress which threatened to pass a law if the
MLB's drug policy was not strengthened, the baseball union agreed in 2005 to a stricter
policy that would include 50-game, 100-game, and lifetime suspensions.[7]

Leadership

President

Bob Feller: 19561959

Executive Director

Frank Scott: May 1, 1959 1966

Marvin Miller: July 1, 1966 December 9, 1982
Ken Moffett: December 9, 1982 November 22, 1983
Marvin Miller (Interim): November 22, 1983 December 9, 1983
Donald Fehr (Acting): December 9, 1983 December 1985;
Donald Fehr: December 1985 2009
Michael Weiner: June 22, 2009 November 21, 2013
Tony Clark: December 2, 2013 Present

References
1.
Spalding, Albert G. (1911). American National Game.
"History of the Major League Baseball Players Association". mlbplayers.mlb.com.
Catfish Hunter
The Economic History of Major League Baseball Michael J. Haupert, University of
Wisconsin -- La Crosse
"Fehr to Leave Job Held Since 1985". ESPN.com. 22 June 2009.
http://news.yahoo.com/clark-1st-ex-big-leaguer-run-mlb-players-224007260-spt.html;_ylt=A2KJ2UhiZp5SM1IAQ5XQtDMD
7. "MLBPA/MLB joint announcement". MLBPA. 2005-11-15. Retrieved 2007-0321.

External links
Baseball portal
Organized labour portal

www.mlbplayers.com
The early days of free agency by Darren Rovell

Further reading

Helyar, John. (1994). Lords of the Realm: The Real History of Baseball. New York:
Villard. ISBN 0-679-41197-6.
Korr, Charles P. (2002). The End of Baseball as We Knew It: The Players Union,
196081. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-02752-3.
[show]

v
t
e

Major League Baseball (2015)

[show]

v
t
e

North American Major League Sports Player Associations

Categories:

Major League Baseball labor relations

Sports trade unions of the United States
Baseball organizations
Trade unions established in 1953
1953 establishments in the United States
1953 establishments in Canada

Navigation menu

Create account
Log in

Article
Talk

Read
Edit
View history

Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events

Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikimedia Shop

Interaction

Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages

Franais

Portugus

Edit links

This page was last modified on 13 January 2015, at 23:22.

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License;
additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and
Privacy Policy. Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation,
Inc., a non-profit organization.

Major League Baseball Players

Association
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
MLBPA

Full name
Founded
Members
Key people
Office
location
Country
Website

Major League Baseball Players

Association
1953
1200
Tony Clark, executive director
New York, NY
United States, Canada
mlbplayers.com

The Major League Baseball Players Association (or MLBPA) is the union of
professional major-league baseball players.

Contents

1 History of MLBPA
o 1.1 The Marvin Miller era
o 1.2 Recent history
1.2.1 Salary Cap
1.2.2 Steroids
2 Leadership
o 2.1 President
o 2.2 Executive Director
3 References
4 External links
5 Further reading

History of MLBPA

The MLBPA was not the first attempt to unionize baseball players. Earlier attempts had
included:

Brotherhood of Professional Baseball Players - 1885 (founded by John Montgomery

Ward)[1]
Players' Protective Association - 1900[2]
Fraternity of Professional Baseball Players of America - 1912
National Baseball Players Association of the United States - 1922 (founded by
Raymond Joseph Cannon)
The American Baseball Guild 1946 (founded by labor lawyer Robert Murphy)

The Marvin Miller era

The MLBPA was created in 1953. In 1966, the union hired Marvin Miller from the United
Steel Workers of America to head the organization, serving as Executive Director until
1983. In 1968, Miller negotiated the first collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the
team owners, which raised the minimum salary from $6,000 to $10,000 per year. The 1970
CBA included arbitration to resolve disputes.[2] In 1972 the major leagues saw their first
player strike, in opposition to the owners' refusal to increase player pension funds.
In 1974, when owner Charlie Finley failed to make a $50,000 payment into an insurance
annuity as called for in Catfish Hunter's contract, the MLBPA took the case to arbitration.
The arbitrator ruled that Hunter could be a free agent.[3]
During Miller's tenure, base salaries, pension funds, licensing rights and revenues were
increased, laying the groundwork that helped create what is widely considered one of the
strongest unions in the country.[citation needed] Miller challenged the reserve clause which was
used by team owners to bind players to one team. The strength of the union was
immeasurably increased by the creation of the modern free agent system following the
Seitz decision in 1975.
Players and owners failed to come to terms over free agent compensation, which led to
another strike in 1981. In the late 1980s and early 1990s the MLBPA filed collusion
charges, arguing that team owners had violated the collective bargaining agreement in the
19851987 seasons. The MLBPA won each case, resulting in "second look" free agents,
and over $269 million in owner fines.[4]

Recent history
Donald Fehr joined the MLBPA as general counsel in 1977 and was named executive
director in 1985, leading it through the 1994 Major League Baseball strike and recent
issues.
On June 22, 2009, Fehr announced he would step down, and after a transition period, would
be replaced by the union's general counsel, Michael Weiner.[5]

On November 21, 2013, MLBPA Executive Director Michael Weiner died after a 15-month
battle with a non-operable brain tumor. He was 51 years old. Tony Clark, the Deputy
Executive Director, was named Executive Director on December 2, 2013, the first former
major league player to hold the position.[6]
Salary Cap
As of 2014, Major League Baseball is the only major professional sports league in the
U.S.A that does not have a salary cap; the MLS, NHL, NBA and NFL all implement some
sort of salary cap.
Steroids
See also: Banned substances in baseball in the United States
The MLBPA was initially opposed to random steroid testing, claiming it to be a violation
of the privacy of players. After enormous negative publicity surrounding the alleged or
actual involvement of several star players in the BALCO steroid scandal, the players
dropped their opposition to a steroid testing program and developed a consensus that
favored testing. Under pressure from US Congress which threatened to pass a law if the
MLB's drug policy was not strengthened, the baseball union agreed in 2005 to a stricter
policy that would include 50-game, 100-game, and lifetime suspensions.[7]

Leadership
President

Bob Feller: 19561959

Executive Director

Frank Scott: May 1, 1959 1966

Marvin Miller: July 1, 1966 December 9, 1982
Ken Moffett: December 9, 1982 November 22, 1983
Marvin Miller (Interim): November 22, 1983 December 9, 1983
Donald Fehr (Acting): December 9, 1983 December 1985;
Donald Fehr: December 1985 2009
Michael Weiner: June 22, 2009 November 21, 2013
Tony Clark: December 2, 2013 Present

References
1.
Spalding, Albert G. (1911). American National Game.

 "History of the Major League Baseball Players Association". mlbplayers.mlb.com.

Catfish Hunter
The Economic History of Major League Baseball Michael J. Haupert, University of
Wisconsin -- La Crosse
"Fehr to Leave Job Held Since 1985". ESPN.com. 22 June 2009.
http://news.yahoo.com/clark-1st-ex-big-leaguer-run-mlb-players-224007260-spt.html;_ylt=A2KJ2UhiZp5SM1IAQ5XQtDMD
7. "MLBPA/MLB joint announcement". MLBPA. 2005-11-15. Retrieved 2007-0321.

External links
Baseball portal
Organized labour portal

www.mlbplayers.com
The early days of free agency by Darren Rovell

Further reading

Helyar, John. (1994). Lords of the Realm: The Real History of Baseball. New York:
Villard. ISBN 0-679-41197-6.
Korr, Charles P. (2002). The End of Baseball as We Knew It: The Players Union,
196081. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-02752-3.
[show]

v
t
e

Major League Baseball (2015)

[show]

v
t
e

North American Major League Sports Player Associations

Categories:

Major League Baseball labor relations

Sports trade unions of the United States
Baseball organizations
Trade unions established in 1953
1953 establishments in the United States
1953 establishments in Canada

Navigation menu

Create account
Log in

Article
Talk

Read
Edit
View history

Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikimedia Shop

Interaction

Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages

Franais

Portugus

Edit links

This page was last modified on 13 January 2015, at 23:22.

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License;
additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and
Privacy Policy. Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation,
Inc., a non-profit organization.

Major League Baseball Players

Association
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
MLBPA

Full name
Founded
Members
Key people
Office
location
Country

Major League Baseball Players

Association
1953
1200
Tony Clark, executive director
New York, NY
United States, Canada

Website

mlbplayers.com

The Major League Baseball Players Association (or MLBPA) is the union of
professional major-league baseball players.

Contents

1 History of MLBPA
o 1.1 The Marvin Miller era
o 1.2 Recent history
1.2.1 Salary Cap
1.2.2 Steroids
2 Leadership
o 2.1 President
o 2.2 Executive Director
3 References
4 External links
5 Further reading

History of MLBPA
The MLBPA was not the first attempt to unionize baseball players. Earlier attempts had
included:

Brotherhood of Professional Baseball Players - 1885 (founded by John Montgomery

Ward)[1]
Players' Protective Association - 1900[2]
Fraternity of Professional Baseball Players of America - 1912
National Baseball Players Association of the United States - 1922 (founded by
Raymond Joseph Cannon)
The American Baseball Guild 1946 (founded by labor lawyer Robert Murphy)

The Marvin Miller era

The MLBPA was created in 1953. In 1966, the union hired Marvin Miller from the United
Steel Workers of America to head the organization, serving as Executive Director until
1983. In 1968, Miller negotiated the first collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the
team owners, which raised the minimum salary from $6,000 to $10,000 per year. The 1970
CBA included arbitration to resolve disputes.[2] In 1972 the major leagues saw their first
player strike, in opposition to the owners' refusal to increase player pension funds.
In 1974, when owner Charlie Finley failed to make a $50,000 payment into an insurance
annuity as called for in Catfish Hunter's contract, the MLBPA took the case to arbitration.
The arbitrator ruled that Hunter could be a free agent.[3]

During Miller's tenure, base salaries, pension funds, licensing rights and revenues were
increased, laying the groundwork that helped create what is widely considered one of the
strongest unions in the country.[citation needed] Miller challenged the reserve clause which was
used by team owners to bind players to one team. The strength of the union was
immeasurably increased by the creation of the modern free agent system following the
Seitz decision in 1975.
Players and owners failed to come to terms over free agent compensation, which led to
another strike in 1981. In the late 1980s and early 1990s the MLBPA filed collusion
charges, arguing that team owners had violated the collective bargaining agreement in the
19851987 seasons. The MLBPA won each case, resulting in "second look" free agents,
and over $269 million in owner fines.[4]

Recent history
Donald Fehr joined the MLBPA as general counsel in 1977 and was named executive
director in 1985, leading it through the 1994 Major League Baseball strike and recent
issues.
On June 22, 2009, Fehr announced he would step down, and after a transition period, would
be replaced by the union's general counsel, Michael Weiner.[5]
On November 21, 2013, MLBPA Executive Director Michael Weiner died after a 15-month
battle with a non-operable brain tumor. He was 51 years old. Tony Clark, the Deputy
Executive Director, was named Executive Director on December 2, 2013, the first former
major league player to hold the position.[6]
Salary Cap
As of 2014, Major League Baseball is the only major professional sports league in the
U.S.A that does not have a salary cap; the MLS, NHL, NBA and NFL all implement some
sort of salary cap.
Steroids
See also: Banned substances in baseball in the United States
The MLBPA was initially opposed to random steroid testing, claiming it to be a violation
of the privacy of players. After enormous negative publicity surrounding the alleged or
actual involvement of several star players in the BALCO steroid scandal, the players
dropped their opposition to a steroid testing program and developed a consensus that
favored testing. Under pressure from US Congress which threatened to pass a law if the
MLB's drug policy was not strengthened, the baseball union agreed in 2005 to a stricter
policy that would include 50-game, 100-game, and lifetime suspensions.[7]

Leadership

President

Bob Feller: 19561959

Executive Director

Frank Scott: May 1, 1959 1966

Marvin Miller: July 1, 1966 December 9, 1982
Ken Moffett: December 9, 1982 November 22, 1983
Marvin Miller (Interim): November 22, 1983 December 9, 1983
Donald Fehr (Acting): December 9, 1983 December 1985;
Donald Fehr: December 1985 2009
Michael Weiner: June 22, 2009 November 21, 2013
Tony Clark: December 2, 2013 Present

References
1.
Spalding, Albert G. (1911). American National Game.
"History of the Major League Baseball Players Association". mlbplayers.mlb.com.
Catfish Hunter
The Economic History of Major League Baseball Michael J. Haupert, University of
Wisconsin -- La Crosse
"Fehr to Leave Job Held Since 1985". ESPN.com. 22 June 2009.
http://news.yahoo.com/clark-1st-ex-big-leaguer-run-mlb-players-224007260-spt.html;_ylt=A2KJ2UhiZp5SM1IAQ5XQtDMD
7. "MLBPA/MLB joint announcement". MLBPA. 2005-11-15. Retrieved 2007-0321.

External links
Baseball portal
Organized labour portal

www.mlbplayers.com
The early days of free agency by Darren Rovell

Further reading

Helyar, John. (1994). Lords of the Realm: The Real History of Baseball. New York:
Villard. ISBN 0-679-41197-6.
Korr, Charles P. (2002). The End of Baseball as We Knew It: The Players Union,
196081. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-02752-3.
[show]

v
t
e

Major League Baseball (2015)

[show]

v
t
e

North American Major League Sports Player Associations

Categories:

Major League Baseball labor relations

Sports trade unions of the United States
Baseball organizations
Trade unions established in 1953
1953 establishments in the United States
1953 establishments in Canada

Navigation menu

Create account
Log in

Article
Talk

Read
Edit
View history

Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events

Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikimedia Shop

Interaction

Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages

Franais

Portugus

Edit links

This page was last modified on 13 January 2015, at 23:22.

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License;
additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and
Privacy Policy. Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation,
Inc., a non-profit organization.

Major League Baseball Players

Association
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
MLBPA

Full name
Founded
Members
Key people
Office
location
Country
Website

Major League Baseball Players

Association
1953
1200
Tony Clark, executive director
New York, NY
United States, Canada
mlbplayers.com

The Major League Baseball Players Association (or MLBPA) is the union of
professional major-league baseball players.

Contents

1 History of MLBPA
o 1.1 The Marvin Miller era
o 1.2 Recent history
1.2.1 Salary Cap
1.2.2 Steroids
2 Leadership
o 2.1 President
o 2.2 Executive Director
3 References
4 External links
5 Further reading

History of MLBPA

The MLBPA was not the first attempt to unionize baseball players. Earlier attempts had
included:

Brotherhood of Professional Baseball Players - 1885 (founded by John Montgomery

Ward)[1]
Players' Protective Association - 1900[2]
Fraternity of Professional Baseball Players of America - 1912
National Baseball Players Association of the United States - 1922 (founded by
Raymond Joseph Cannon)
The American Baseball Guild 1946 (founded by labor lawyer Robert Murphy)

The Marvin Miller era

The MLBPA was created in 1953. In 1966, the union hired Marvin Miller from the United
Steel Workers of America to head the organization, serving as Executive Director until
1983. In 1968, Miller negotiated the first collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the
team owners, which raised the minimum salary from $6,000 to $10,000 per year. The 1970
CBA included arbitration to resolve disputes.[2] In 1972 the major leagues saw their first
player strike, in opposition to the owners' refusal to increase player pension funds.
In 1974, when owner Charlie Finley failed to make a $50,000 payment into an insurance
annuity as called for in Catfish Hunter's contract, the MLBPA took the case to arbitration.
The arbitrator ruled that Hunter could be a free agent.[3]
During Miller's tenure, base salaries, pension funds, licensing rights and revenues were
increased, laying the groundwork that helped create what is widely considered one of the
strongest unions in the country.[citation needed] Miller challenged the reserve clause which was
used by team owners to bind players to one team. The strength of the union was
immeasurably increased by the creation of the modern free agent system following the
Seitz decision in 1975.
Players and owners failed to come to terms over free agent compensation, which led to
another strike in 1981. In the late 1980s and early 1990s the MLBPA filed collusion
charges, arguing that team owners had violated the collective bargaining agreement in the
19851987 seasons. The MLBPA won each case, resulting in "second look" free agents,
and over $269 million in owner fines.[4]

Recent history
Donald Fehr joined the MLBPA as general counsel in 1977 and was named executive
director in 1985, leading it through the 1994 Major League Baseball strike and recent
issues.
On June 22, 2009, Fehr announced he would step down, and after a transition period, would
be replaced by the union's general counsel, Michael Weiner.[5]

On November 21, 2013, MLBPA Executive Director Michael Weiner died after a 15-month
battle with a non-operable brain tumor. He was 51 years old. Tony Clark, the Deputy
Executive Director, was named Executive Director on December 2, 2013, the first former
major league player to hold the position.[6]
Salary Cap
As of 2014, Major League Baseball is the only major professional sports league in the
U.S.A that does not have a salary cap; the MLS, NHL, NBA and NFL all implement some
sort of salary cap.
Steroids
See also: Banned substances in baseball in the United States
The MLBPA was initially opposed to random steroid testing, claiming it to be a violation
of the privacy of players. After enormous negative publicity surrounding the alleged or
actual involvement of several star players in the BALCO steroid scandal, the players
dropped their opposition to a steroid testing program and developed a consensus that
favored testing. Under pressure from US Congress which threatened to pass a law if the
MLB's drug policy was not strengthened, the baseball union agreed in 2005 to a stricter
policy that would include 50-game, 100-game, and lifetime suspensions.[7]

Leadership
President

Bob Feller: 19561959

Executive Director

Frank Scott: May 1, 1959 1966

Marvin Miller: July 1, 1966 December 9, 1982
Ken Moffett: December 9, 1982 November 22, 1983
Marvin Miller (Interim): November 22, 1983 December 9, 1983
Donald Fehr (Acting): December 9, 1983 December 1985;
Donald Fehr: December 1985 2009
Michael Weiner: June 22, 2009 November 21, 2013
Tony Clark: December 2, 2013 Present

References
1.
Spalding, Albert G. (1911). American National Game.

 "History of the Major League Baseball Players Association". mlbplayers.mlb.com.

Catfish Hunter
The Economic History of Major League Baseball Michael J. Haupert, University of
Wisconsin -- La Crosse
"Fehr to Leave Job Held Since 1985". ESPN.com. 22 June 2009.
http://news.yahoo.com/clark-1st-ex-big-leaguer-run-mlb-players-224007260-spt.html;_ylt=A2KJ2UhiZp5SM1IAQ5XQtDMD
7. "MLBPA/MLB joint announcement". MLBPA. 2005-11-15. Retrieved 2007-0321.

External links
Baseball portal
Organized labour portal

www.mlbplayers.com
The early days of free agency by Darren Rovell

Further reading

Helyar, John. (1994). Lords of the Realm: The Real History of Baseball. New York:
Villard. ISBN 0-679-41197-6.
Korr, Charles P. (2002). The End of Baseball as We Knew It: The Players Union,
196081. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-02752-3.
[show]

v
t
e

Major League Baseball (2015)

[show]

v
t
e

North American Major League Sports Player Associations

Categories:

Major League Baseball labor relations

Sports trade unions of the United States
Baseball organizations
Trade unions established in 1953
1953 establishments in the United States
1953 establishments in Canada

Navigation menu

Create account
Log in

Article
Talk

Read
Edit
View history

Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikimedia Shop

Interaction

Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages

Franais

Portugus

Edit links

This page was last modified on 13 January 2015, at 23:22.

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License;
additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and
Privacy Policy. Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation,
Inc., a non-profit organization.

Major League Baseball Players

Association
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
MLBPA

Full name
Founded
Members
Key people
Office
location
Country

Major League Baseball Players

Association
1953
1200
Tony Clark, executive director
New York, NY
United States, Canada

Website

mlbplayers.com

The Major League Baseball Players Association (or MLBPA) is the union of
professional major-league baseball players.

Contents

1 History of MLBPA
o 1.1 The Marvin Miller era
o 1.2 Recent history
1.2.1 Salary Cap
1.2.2 Steroids
2 Leadership
o 2.1 President
o 2.2 Executive Director
3 References
4 External links
5 Further reading

History of MLBPA
The MLBPA was not the first attempt to unionize baseball players. Earlier attempts had
included:

Brotherhood of Professional Baseball Players - 1885 (founded by John Montgomery

Ward)[1]
Players' Protective Association - 1900[2]
Fraternity of Professional Baseball Players of America - 1912
National Baseball Players Association of the United States - 1922 (founded by
Raymond Joseph Cannon)
The American Baseball Guild 1946 (founded by labor lawyer Robert Murphy)

The Marvin Miller era

The MLBPA was created in 1953. In 1966, the union hired Marvin Miller from the United
Steel Workers of America to head the organization, serving as Executive Director until
1983. In 1968, Miller negotiated the first collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the
team owners, which raised the minimum salary from $6,000 to $10,000 per year. The 1970
CBA included arbitration to resolve disputes.[2] In 1972 the major leagues saw their first
player strike, in opposition to the owners' refusal to increase player pension funds.
In 1974, when owner Charlie Finley failed to make a $50,000 payment into an insurance
annuity as called for in Catfish Hunter's contract, the MLBPA took the case to arbitration.
The arbitrator ruled that Hunter could be a free agent.[3]

During Miller's tenure, base salaries, pension funds, licensing rights and revenues were
increased, laying the groundwork that helped create what is widely considered one of the
strongest unions in the country.[citation needed] Miller challenged the reserve clause which was
used by team owners to bind players to one team. The strength of the union was
immeasurably increased by the creation of the modern free agent system following the
Seitz decision in 1975.
Players and owners failed to come to terms over free agent compensation, which led to
another strike in 1981. In the late 1980s and early 1990s the MLBPA filed collusion
charges, arguing that team owners had violated the collective bargaining agreement in the
19851987 seasons. The MLBPA won each case, resulting in "second look" free agents,
and over $269 million in owner fines.[4]

Recent history
Donald Fehr joined the MLBPA as general counsel in 1977 and was named executive
director in 1985, leading it through the 1994 Major League Baseball strike and recent
issues.
On June 22, 2009, Fehr announced he would step down, and after a transition period, would
be replaced by the union's general counsel, Michael Weiner.[5]
On November 21, 2013, MLBPA Executive Director Michael Weiner died after a 15-month
battle with a non-operable brain tumor. He was 51 years old. Tony Clark, the Deputy
Executive Director, was named Executive Director on December 2, 2013, the first former
major league player to hold the position.[6]
Salary Cap
As of 2014, Major League Baseball is the only major professional sports league in the
U.S.A that does not have a salary cap; the MLS, NHL, NBA and NFL all implement some
sort of salary cap.
Steroids
See also: Banned substances in baseball in the United States
The MLBPA was initially opposed to random steroid testing, claiming it to be a violation
of the privacy of players. After enormous negative publicity surrounding the alleged or
actual involvement of several star players in the BALCO steroid scandal, the players
dropped their opposition to a steroid testing program and developed a consensus that
favored testing. Under pressure from US Congress which threatened to pass a law if the
MLB's drug policy was not strengthened, the baseball union agreed in 2005 to a stricter
policy that would include 50-game, 100-game, and lifetime suspensions.[7]

Leadership

President

Bob Feller: 19561959

Executive Director

Frank Scott: May 1, 1959 1966

Marvin Miller: July 1, 1966 December 9, 1982
Ken Moffett: December 9, 1982 November 22, 1983
Marvin Miller (Interim): November 22, 1983 December 9, 1983
Donald Fehr (Acting): December 9, 1983 December 1985;
Donald Fehr: December 1985 2009
Michael Weiner: June 22, 2009 November 21, 2013
Tony Clark: December 2, 2013 Present

References
1.
Spalding, Albert G. (1911). American National Game.
"History of the Major League Baseball Players Association". mlbplayers.mlb.com.
Catfish Hunter
The Economic History of Major League Baseball Michael J. Haupert, University of
Wisconsin -- La Crosse
"Fehr to Leave Job Held Since 1985". ESPN.com. 22 June 2009.
http://news.yahoo.com/clark-1st-ex-big-leaguer-run-mlb-players-224007260-spt.html;_ylt=A2KJ2UhiZp5SM1IAQ5XQtDMD
7. "MLBPA/MLB joint announcement". MLBPA. 2005-11-15. Retrieved 2007-0321.

External links
Baseball portal
Organized labour portal

www.mlbplayers.com
The early days of free agency by Darren Rovell

Further reading

Helyar, John. (1994). Lords of the Realm: The Real History of Baseball. New York:
Villard. ISBN 0-679-41197-6.
Korr, Charles P. (2002). The End of Baseball as We Knew It: The Players Union,
196081. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-02752-3.
[show]

v
t
e

Major League Baseball (2015)

[show]

v
t
e

North American Major League Sports Player Associations

Categories:

Major League Baseball labor relations

Sports trade unions of the United States
Baseball organizations
Trade unions established in 1953
1953 establishments in the United States
1953 establishments in Canada

Navigation menu

Create account
Log in

Article
Talk

Read
Edit
View history

Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events

Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikimedia Shop

Interaction

Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages

Franais

Portugus

Edit links

This page was last modified on 13 January 2015, at 23:22.

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License;
additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and
Privacy Policy. Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation,
Inc., a non-profit organization.

Major League Baseball Players

Association
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
MLBPA

Full name
Founded
Members
Key people
Office
location
Country
Website

Major League Baseball Players

Association
1953
1200
Tony Clark, executive director
New York, NY
United States, Canada
mlbplayers.com

The Major League Baseball Players Association (or MLBPA) is the union of
professional major-league baseball players.

Contents

1 History of MLBPA
o 1.1 The Marvin Miller era
o 1.2 Recent history
1.2.1 Salary Cap
1.2.2 Steroids
2 Leadership
o 2.1 President
o 2.2 Executive Director
3 References
4 External links
5 Further reading

History of MLBPA

The MLBPA was not the first attempt to unionize baseball players. Earlier attempts had
included:

Brotherhood of Professional Baseball Players - 1885 (founded by John Montgomery

Ward)[1]
Players' Protective Association - 1900[2]
Fraternity of Professional Baseball Players of America - 1912
National Baseball Players Association of the United States - 1922 (founded by
Raymond Joseph Cannon)
The American Baseball Guild 1946 (founded by labor lawyer Robert Murphy)

The Marvin Miller era

The MLBPA was created in 1953. In 1966, the union hired Marvin Miller from the United
Steel Workers of America to head the organization, serving as Executive Director until
1983. In 1968, Miller negotiated the first collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the
team owners, which raised the minimum salary from $6,000 to $10,000 per year. The 1970
CBA included arbitration to resolve disputes.[2] In 1972 the major leagues saw their first
player strike, in opposition to the owners' refusal to increase player pension funds.
In 1974, when owner Charlie Finley failed to make a $50,000 payment into an insurance
annuity as called for in Catfish Hunter's contract, the MLBPA took the case to arbitration.
The arbitrator ruled that Hunter could be a free agent.[3]
During Miller's tenure, base salaries, pension funds, licensing rights and revenues were
increased, laying the groundwork that helped create what is widely considered one of the
strongest unions in the country.[citation needed] Miller challenged the reserve clause which was
used by team owners to bind players to one team. The strength of the union was
immeasurably increased by the creation of the modern free agent system following the
Seitz decision in 1975.
Players and owners failed to come to terms over free agent compensation, which led to
another strike in 1981. In the late 1980s and early 1990s the MLBPA filed collusion
charges, arguing that team owners had violated the collective bargaining agreement in the
19851987 seasons. The MLBPA won each case, resulting in "second look" free agents,
and over $269 million in owner fines.[4]

Recent history
Donald Fehr joined the MLBPA as general counsel in 1977 and was named executive
director in 1985, leading it through the 1994 Major League Baseball strike and recent
issues.
On June 22, 2009, Fehr announced he would step down, and after a transition period, would
be replaced by the union's general counsel, Michael Weiner.[5]

On November 21, 2013, MLBPA Executive Director Michael Weiner died after a 15-month
battle with a non-operable brain tumor. He was 51 years old. Tony Clark, the Deputy
Executive Director, was named Executive Director on December 2, 2013, the first former
major league player to hold the position.[6]
Salary Cap
As of 2014, Major League Baseball is the only major professional sports league in the
U.S.A that does not have a salary cap; the MLS, NHL, NBA and NFL all implement some
sort of salary cap.
Steroids
See also: Banned substances in baseball in the United States
The MLBPA was initially opposed to random steroid testing, claiming it to be a violation
of the privacy of players. After enormous negative publicity surrounding the alleged or
actual involvement of several star players in the BALCO steroid scandal, the players
dropped their opposition to a steroid testing program and developed a consensus that
favored testing. Under pressure from US Congress which threatened to pass a law if the
MLB's drug policy was not strengthened, the baseball union agreed in 2005 to a stricter
policy that would include 50-game, 100-game, and lifetime suspensions.[7]

Leadership
President

Bob Feller: 19561959

Executive Director

Frank Scott: May 1, 1959 1966

Marvin Miller: July 1, 1966 December 9, 1982
Ken Moffett: December 9, 1982 November 22, 1983
Marvin Miller (Interim): November 22, 1983 December 9, 1983
Donald Fehr (Acting): December 9, 1983 December 1985;
Donald Fehr: December 1985 2009
Michael Weiner: June 22, 2009 November 21, 2013
Tony Clark: December 2, 2013 Present

References
1.
Spalding, Albert G. (1911). American National Game.

 "History of the Major League Baseball Players Association". mlbplayers.mlb.com.

Catfish Hunter
The Economic History of Major League Baseball Michael J. Haupert, University of
Wisconsin -- La Crosse
"Fehr to Leave Job Held Since 1985". ESPN.com. 22 June 2009.
http://news.yahoo.com/clark-1st-ex-big-leaguer-run-mlb-players-224007260-spt.html;_ylt=A2KJ2UhiZp5SM1IAQ5XQtDMD
7. "MLBPA/MLB joint announcement". MLBPA. 2005-11-15. Retrieved 2007-0321.

External links
Baseball portal
Organized labour portal

www.mlbplayers.com
The early days of free agency by Darren Rovell

Further reading

Helyar, John. (1994). Lords of the Realm: The Real History of Baseball. New York:
Villard. ISBN 0-679-41197-6.
Korr, Charles P. (2002). The End of Baseball as We Knew It: The Players Union,
196081. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-02752-3.
[show]

v
t
e

Major League Baseball (2015)

[show]

v
t
e

North American Major League Sports Player Associations

Categories:

Major League Baseball labor relations

Sports trade unions of the United States
Baseball organizations
Trade unions established in 1953
1953 establishments in the United States
1953 establishments in Canada

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This page was last modified on 13 January 2015, at 23:22.

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