How did he Fehr?

Donald Fehr retired from his position as executive director of the MLB players association on Monday after 26 years of service. Fehr is one month away from turning 61. He will be most remembered for his undying dedication to the players, as opposed to his dedication to the integrity of the game. Baseball’s player’s association is the strongest in professional sports, and Fehr did nothing to jeopardize that reputation. Through his cutthroat negotiations with franchise owners, Fehr helped raise the average MLB salary from $289,000 to $2.9 million. He led the players on a strike in 1994 that resulted in the cancellation of that year’s World Series. The average player made almost $1.2 million that season—up 9% from the previous year. A World Series-canceling strike because of $1.2 mil. a year? Not Fehr's crowning achievement, to be sure. The strike was effective, nonetheless: average salaries more than doubled over the next ten years. Because of Fehr, selfish baseball players have been able to squeeze every last dollar out of their organization’s bank account.

Another thing Fehr has done to negatively affect the game of baseball is his handling of the steroid issue. Using the strength of the MLBPA, Fehr was able to keep any drug testing program out of baseball in 2003, 16 years after the NFL, and 4 years after the NBA. Michael Weiner, a skilled lawyer and No. 3 official in the players association, will succeed Fehr. Hopefully, a new face at the head of the MLBPA will clean up the mess that is drug abuse in the MLB. Maybe not though, because it was at the behest of Fehr that Weiner take his position, and it is likely that Weiner will have take all the same stands as his predecessor.