04/19/24
June 22, 2009
Donald Fehr Retiring from Baseball Player's Union: Donald Fehr, 61, is retiring as head of the baseball players' association after more than a quarter-century in charge -- though it may occur as late as next March. Fehr took over in 1983 and presided over three strikes, including the one that killed the World Series in 1994-95. The average player salary was $289,000 when he took office and is $2.9 million today.
I'm not going to go quite to the level of beaverboard, but I'm not sad to see Fehr gone, either. I do believe that as MLB revenues increase, player salaries should certainly increase accordingly, though I question whether Fehr's reign in the MLBPA is really about representing the players as a whole or just the superstar players. Therein lay the current problem with the MLBPA.
Perhaps the next leader will be different. Or perhaps not. But I have a column's worth of thoughts on this and I might just write it.
posted by TheQatarian at 06:50 PM on June 22, 2009
I think that a 289K salary is entirely adequate; they have per diems and the travel and hotels are all covered by the team.
For the first 85 years of baseball the owners made all the money. Why is it so controversial that from the '70s on players started making some of it? I don't go to games to see the owners own.
posted by rcade at 07:36 PM on June 22, 2009
Whatever you think about his effect on the game, you'd want someone like him to negotiate for your union, wouldn't you?
posted by owlhouse at 09:35 PM on June 22, 2009
It depends, owlhouse. The automotive union leaders got so obsessed with "winning" their negotiations that they ended up practically putting their employers out of business. If I were in one of those unions, I'd want my share, but I wouldn't want to put my employer in financial danger.
Fehr didn't quite do that, but whether he helped the health of the game is questionable. And if I were a member of the MLBPA's rank-and-file, like some random Pirates bullpen guy for example, I'd be less concerned with the right to make zillions per year and more interested in a proposal which might give my team a shot at keeping guys like Jason Bay and Nate McLouth in town, even if it meant Manny Ramirez would have to settle for $15 million per year instead of $25 million.
Just my opinion, though.
posted by TheQatarian at 10:26 PM on June 22, 2009
Whether we attend games or buy team merchandise, we're all paying players' higher salaries since most of the increase has come from ad-driven rights fees (e.g., TV). But it's a turtles all the way down/circular issue.
posted by billsaysthis at 12:11 PM on June 23, 2009
So there's your legacy Don Fehr. You helped drive people like me away from the game we loved
I'm sorry but there's just no way that Donald Fehr, steroid allegations or anything else will drive me away from the game that I loved. If that were the case, I would guess that you didn't actually love it as much as you thought you did.
posted by BornIcon at 01:00 PM on June 23, 2009
What limits my access to the game I love is $500 a seat above the green monster. Fehr did that more than any other variable.
posted by smithnyiu at 01:57 PM on June 23, 2009
Please explain how. Am I to understand your position is the success of the union forced higher salaries which then forced higher ticket prices (in spite of all economic logic) without demand for tickets ever increasing?
posted by yerfatma at 08:57 AM on June 24, 2009
I was thinking it was more of a rhetorical statement than anything ... $122.6 M salary (plus a huge demand, granted ... 500+ consecutive sold out games, etc.) has to be the biggest reason for ticket prices, especially for premium seats. I got a B- in economics taught on Saturday mornings, so I'm probably missing something.
posted by smithnyiu at 11:35 AM on June 24, 2009
Just one thing: player salaries aren't an input to ticket prices calculations. At all. The only thing that drives ticket prices is demand for tickets.
posted by yerfatma at 02:42 PM on June 24, 2009
I think that a 289K salary is entirely adequate; they have per diems and the travel and hotels are all covered by the team.
If they were getting paid sane amounts of money, they wouldn't be able to afford personal trainers and "flaxseed oil".
I haven't been inside a MLB ballpark since 1987, with no plans to go any time in the foreseeable future. I have declined to attend games as a guest. I refuse to pay to watch MLB games on TV. They haven't gotten a dime of my money in over 20 years.
So there's your legacy Don Fehr. You helped drive people like me away from the game we loved. Enjoy your retirement.
If you don't touch the bag as you round third on your way to hell, don't worry about it. I'll make sure that no one appeals it to the umps.