Throwing you a bender because I just thought you should know…
Marvin Miller died last week and it caused me to stop and wonder if B.J. Upton, Jeff Keppinger, or Angel Pagan even knew who he was, yet alone thanked him.
In 1966, the Players Association was a mess and the players were obsessed with improving the state of their pension plan. Miller was a labor economist for the United Steelworkers, contemplating taking the position of representing the Major League Baseball players. Miller listened to their concerns with the pension plan while becoming even more shocked by many other issues painting a horrible overall picture for the players.
At that time, working conditions were horrible for the players. Owners made players work for several consecutive weeks without a day off; double headers were regularly scheduled and even played on consecutive days. From 1946-1965, the minimum player salary had “climbed” from $5,000 to $6,000! Even little things which presented dangerous working conditions were in place such as poor warning tracks and unpadded fences and outfield walls.
Miller dug even deeper and was horrified to discover the “reserve clause” in every standard baseball contract. Miller determined this was “one of the worst labor documents I’ve ever seen.” This clause allowed the team to renew a player’s contract without the player’s approval for the period of one year. In the eyes of the owners, this clause could be renewed indefinitely each year. This allowed the owners to have complete control over a player in terms of pay until they decided to trade or release them. Miller took the job.
He attacked the job on a philosophy that gradual, incremental victories would yield more progress than winning an issue by a blowout and creating bad feelings. He obviously had an expert handle on the economics of the player’s situation and decided to start his progressive plan by going after wages. The minimum player salary increased to $10,000 in his first negotiation and he upgraded the pension plan shortly thereafter. Even currently, the pension plan is an incredibly generous agreement. Many players who retired before free agency was in place make more in the pension plan than they did in salary while playing.
Previously, the Commissioner of Baseball, hand picked by the owners, was the “impartial” arbitrator to oversee grievances. The negotiation for the 1970 agreement had Miller establishing an outsider as the impartial arbitrator. This proved to be crucial later and Miller knew it, setting up his biggest move to come.
His earlier progress and victories with the wages and pension plan gained the backing and full support of the players. This had never been achieved previously in their association. By gaining this status, Miller was now able to take on the reserve clause. Under Miller’s counsel, Curt Flood, a St. Louis Cardinals outfielder, sued, claiming the clause violated anti-trust laws and restrained fair trade. Flood went the distance with his case, raising huge awareness and receiving gratitude from the players even though he eventually lost in front of the Supreme Court and cost himself his baseball career.
However, this allowed Miller to instruct two other players, Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally, to play an entire season without having signed their contracts and then file grievances afterwards. The arbitrator reviewing the grievances ruled in the player’s favor, ruling the clause was good for one year only, not in perpetuity. The decision was monumental and abolished the reserve clause and allowed free agency to begin.
In regards to Miller’s historical spot in the game of baseball, his absence from the Hall of Fame seems very political. Eligible “pioneers” are selected by a Veterans Committee, instead of the Baseball Writers Association of America. The Veterans Committee is populated by current or former management members which explains how Bowie Kuhn (an employee of owners and management) can be inducted and Marvin Miller remains out.
But Miller’s legacy really lives on through the state of the game, the entire game. While player’s rights and salaries are healthy, the overall prosperity of Major League Baseball is phenomenal. Miller summed it up very succinctly just before his death by saying, “When I began…there were 20 major league franchises and they had a combined revenue of $50 million for the whole year. Last year, revenues exceeded $6 billion. That’s the industry we’ve ruined with higher salaries.”
In the midst of that $6 billion industry, these three players (Upton, Keppinger and Pagan) that will only enter the Hall of Fame as visitors, signed to play baseball for a combined $127.25 million. On their behalf: Thank you Mr. Miller.
All this because I know more about nothing…
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