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With his leadership and vision, Marvin Miller changed the game and had an indelible impact on the lives of Players across generations. He helped build a union that was strong and unified enough to stand the test of time. In honor of Marvin's upcoming induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, we will celebrate his legacy as the MLBPA's founding executive director.
On Sept. 8, his contributions will be preserved for history in Cooperstown.
THANK YOU MARVIN
BO BICHETTE | ZACK BRITTON | JASON CASTRO | GERRIT COLE | LUCAS GIOLITO | TYLER GLASNOW | PAUL GOLDSCHMIDT | RHYS HOSKINS |
FRANCISCO LINDOR | WHIT MERRIFIELD | ANDREW MILLER | JAMES PAXTON | MIGUEL ROJAS | MAX SCHERZER | MARCUS SEMIEN
DAVE WINFIELD, STEVE ROGERS, BUCK MARTINEZ & ALLEN BARRA
Marvin Miller helped Players negotiate the first collective bargaining agreement in professional team sports, vastly improved their salaries and pensions and also helped Players secure neutral arbitration to resolve CBA disputes, salary arbitration and free agency.
To honor Marvin, and raise awareness about his contributions to our organization and Baseball, former Players and union activists Buck Martinez, Steve Rogers and Dave Winfield, along with Allen Barra, recently gathered to discuss their history with Marvin and the significance of his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
A CONVERSATION WITH SAL BANDO, JIM KAAT AND PHIL GARNER
Jim Kaat, Sal Bando and Phil Garner were strong and influential player voices in the 1960s and '70s, when Marvin Miller began building the Major League Baseball Players Association from the ground floor on his way to making historic advances for players.
Before Miller's induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, the three former players sat down with the MLBPA and shared their insights and memories of Marvin Miller the man, the teacher, and the trail blazer who changed the game while advocating for player rights.
Marvin Miller devoted his life to advancing the rights of workers. Before becoming the MLBPA’s first executive director, Marvin spent almost 30 years with the National Labor Relations Board and with unions representing machinists, auto workers and steel workers.
#ThankYouMarvin
For more from SABR on Marvin’s career trajectory and path to joining the MLBPA in 1966:
Marvin Miller and General Counsel Dick Moss believed Players should have the right to negotiate a market salary and choose where they work, so they made free agency a top priority. They succeeded in 1975 when Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally refused to sign renewed contracts, challenged the reserve clause before a neutral arbitrator and won the right of free agency for Players.
#ThankYouMarvin
For more from SABR on Marvin’s success towards establishing free agency:
April of 1972 was when Players took full charge of their union. Despite reservations and an initial recommendation against it from Marvin Miller and general counsel Dick Moss, Players overwhelming (663-10) voted to go on strike for the first time in the union’s history – a 13-day walkout over funding of the Players’ pension plan, which was and remains a cornerstone of their collective bargaining agreement.
Left to right seated: Don Drysdale, Dodgers, Steve Hamilton, Standing: Jack Fischer of Cincinnati Reds, Dick Moss & Marvin Miller
For more from SABR on Marvin’s involvement in the Players pension plan:
Marvin Miller devoted his life to advancing the rights of workers. Before becoming the MLBPA’s first executive director, Marvin spent almost 30 years with the National Labor Relations Board and with unions representing machinists, auto workers and steel workers.
#ThankYouMarvin
For more from SABR on Marvin’s career trajectory and path to joining the MLBPA in 1966:
