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.