Major League Baseball lost one of its most influential figures Tuesday morning. Marvin Miller, the first director of the Major League Baseball Players Association and the architect of modern free agency and arbitration, died this morning at the age of 95, according to Yahoo Sports.
Marvin Miller dies at 95
The influential, inaugural director of the MLB Players Association passed away this morning.
Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
Miller was appointed the executive director of the MLBPA in 1966, and remained in that position until 1982. During his tenure as union head, Miller oversaw several watershed moments for players’ rights, including the first collective bargaining agreement between owners and players in 1968, the advent of arbitration in 1970, and the elimination of the reserve clause in 1974, which led to free agency.
Miller has fallen short of Hall of Fame enshrinement his two times on the Veteran Committee’s ballot, but is widely considered one of the most influential people in baseball history. In 1997, the MLBPA created the Marvin Miller Award, to be given to “the player in either league whose on-field performance and contributions to his community inspire others to higher levels of achievement.”
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