The heir to the MLBPA throne, after Don Fehr's surprising retirement, is Michael Weiner, General Counsel to the Major League Baseball Players Association.
He graduated from Williams College in 1983, having majored in political economy, and graduated from Harvard Law School in 1986. From 1986 to 1988, Michael served as law clerk to the Hon. H. Lee Sarokin, then United States District Court Judge, in Newark, NJ. Michael joined the Players Association in September 1988.
Michael also has served as counsel to the National Hockey League Players Association in salary arbitrations.
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Weiner, 47, joined the union in 1988 and has been deeply involved in all union matters. He has been credited with helping to thaw the relationship between the owners and players in recent years, highlighted by contract agreements in 2002 and 2006 that averted work stoppages.
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(Weiner) just may be the most powerful man in baseball whom America doesn't know.
"This guy is something special," says veteran baseball agent Larry Reynolds. "The guy is absolutely brilliant. And he's humble. I don't think there's anyone in the game that doesn't like Michael Weiner. "I hope he stays there forever because I don't know how he could be replaced."
"I don't know anyone who has ever worked with him, for him, or with whom he's worked in the industry that doesn't have the highest regard possible for him."
"I've always been a fan of the game," says Weiner, who played third base for his high school team. "I was a Yankee fan. I follow the game closely and still view myself as a fan."
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
