I know this doesn't rise to the level of war and peace...but the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum's Committee for Baseball Veterans announced balloting results Tuesday for its 2007 election of players, managers, executives and umpires. And Marvin Miller did not make the cut. As a life-long baseball fan (and, to be upfront, a Yankees' season ticket holder...), it is just an outrage that Miller isn't in the Hall.
For the casual reader, Miller revolutionized the sport. He was elected to head the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) in 1966. Without question, he turned the MLBPA into one of the strongest unions in America. He managed to pull together a group of players who, by their nature, saw their success tied to their own individual ability--and he convinced them that only a strong union, where the success of each of them would be tied to collective action, would protect their livelihoods.
Miller came to the union with a long history in organized labor. HE served as a labor economist for the Machinists' Union and my union, the United Auto Workers. He, then, went on to work for United Steelworkers union and quickly, I would say, rose to be one of the union's best negotiators. His only flaw: he was a huge fan of the N.Y. Giants (just kidding...). By 1968, in just two years, Miller succeeded in raising baseball's minimum salary from $6,000 to $10,000 (the first such raise in over two decades), a precedent that cleared the way for baseball salaries to become the envy of all professional athletes. The cool-headed union chief soon gained a reputation throughout the league as a hard, but well respected, negotiator and player advocate.
In just two years, Miller was able to move players' salaries from a minimum of $6,000 to $10,000--a huge jump in those days. Management hated him with a passion. Of course, his greatest achievements remain winning the right, in 1973, for players to be able to actually have arbitration for grievances and, then, establishing the right to free agency.
Miller fell just 10 votes shy of garnering the necessary number to be inducted. At 90 years old, I'm worried that he may not make it to the next election for executives (i.e., non-players), which won't be held next until 2011.
It's obvious why Miller didn't get there: among the voters on the panel are executives in baseball who still despise Miller because he actually empowered players to stand up against the owners. They won't vote for him out of spite.
But, frankly, as long as Miller remains outside the Hall of Fame, the rest of the inductees are tarnished. Because the Hall is supposed to celebrate those people--players and non-players--who have had a lasting impact on the game. It's hard to think of any single person outside the lines who changed the game of baseball more than Marvin Miller.
Shame on the Hall for keeping Miller outside its walls.