Many people were miffed last week when the Veteran’s Committee failed to elect anyone to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Some people argued Ron Santo and Jim Kaat deserved to be enshrined. The fact is, Santo and Kaat were very good players, but they weren’t great. The Hall of Fame is reserved for great players and managers and people who made a tremendous impact on the game. One man who undoubtedly deserves to be voted into the Hall of Fame is Marvin Miller, whose impact to the game has to be in the top five of significant contributions. Miller was the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) from 1966-1983, and the history of baseball cannot be written or documented without devoting a portion to Miller and his accomplishments. Free agency, collective bargaining and arbitration have changed baseball forever. Miller is responsible for all of these. Two years after Miller became head of the MLBPA, he negotiated the first collective bargaining agreement, raising the minimum salary for players by 67 percent. In 1970, Miller successfully argued for arbitration to be included in the collective bargaining agreement. Previously, when there was a grievance between players and owners, the commissioner would hear the complaint. Since the commissioner was hired by the owners, he often sided with them. Now, an independent arbitrator resolves the issue without any conflicts of interest. In 1975, Miller was able to eliminate the reserve clause in players’ contracts, and free agency was born. With free agency, a player is free to negotiate with any team after his contract expires. Now, instead of just the owners getting rich, the players are too. When Miller took the executive director position, the minimum salary for players was $6,000. Today, it is $327,000. In 1966, the highest paid player earned $130,000. Last season, Alex Rodriguez made over $21 million. When speaking of the Veteran’s Committee voting, the website for the Baseball Hall of Fame states: “The Committee shall consider all eligible candidates and voting shall be based upon the individual’s record, ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character and contribution to the game.” Few have made a larger contribution to the game than Miller, and it’s an injustice that he’s not in the Hall of Fame.
|