Vincent was commissioner from 1989-92, a rocky tenure that included a World Series earthquake, spring training lockout, expansion to Miami and Denver, and a vote of no confidence from MLB owners.
Fay Vincent, the commissioner of Major League Baseball from 1989-92, died on Saturday at age 86.
Vincent’s time in the office was tumultuous and short-lived, beginning from being pressed into duty after the sudden death of commissioner Bart Giamatti in 1989. Just a month after Giamatti died of a heart attack, Vincent’s first World Series as commissioner was interrupted by a devastating earthquake in San Francisco.
This was also smack dab in the middle of a decade and a half of labor war between owners and the players union, including a 32-day lockout during spring training in 1990, Vincent’s first full year on the job.
During Vincent’s time as commissioner, owners were ruled to have colluded in 1985, 1986, and 1987, and were forced to pay $280 million in restitution to the affected players through a settlement with the union.
Though Vincent’s tenure was set through 1993, owners gave him a no-confidence vote in 1992 that led to his resignation a year early. A report Ronald Blum at Associated Press in September 1992 noted that the owners of the White Sox, Dodgers, Brewers, and Cubs were leaders of the “anti-Vincent” group.
“The commissioner has to look out for the fans, and the owners don’t want to hear me speak that idea,” Vincent said at the time, per his ESPN obituary.
Milwaukee’s owner, Bud Selig, was voted as the next commissioner, and the resulting labor war between the owners and players led to the cancellation of the World Series in 1994.
“His time in the commissioner’s chair was brief but was long enough to create a delineation in the game,” wrote Tom Verducci at Sports Illustrated. “His independent streak caused owners to reexamine what the job should be.”
Tyler Kepner at The Athletic wrote a great obituary of Vincent, including items from an interview with Vincent from two months ago:
“I don’t want to work for these guys,’” Vincent said in a November 2024 interview, recalling his reaction to the vote. “I know that there’s going to be cheating, and I don’t want to be the policeman without community support. I mean, it’s hopeless.”
MLB also expanded under Vincent, who oversaw the addition of the Rockies and Marlins in 1993, with those expansion fees helping to pay the collusion settlement.
“Fay Vincent played a vital role in ensuring that the 1989 Bay Area World Series resumed responsibly following the earthquake prior to Game Three, and he oversaw the process that resulted in the 1993 National League expansion to Denver and Miami,” current commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “Mr. Vincent served the game during a time of many challenges, and he remained proud of his association with our National Pastime throughout his life.”
From Jane Forbes Clark, chairman of the board of the National Baseball Hall of Fame:
“As a member of the Hall of Fame’s Board of Directors, he always kept baseball and its history’s best interests at heart, and his passion for the game extended beyond his time in the league office. He later chaired the Special Committee that elected 17 Negro Leagues legends in 2006 and collaborated with the Hall of Fame on a groundbreaking series of oral history interviews that will forever be a part of the Museum’s collection, and the game’s historical record. On behalf of the entire Board of Directors, we share our condolences with the Vincent family.”
Related reading
- New York Times obituary of Vincent, written by George Vescey
- Craig Calcaterra at his Cup of Coffee newsletter called Vincent MLB’s last actual commissioner
- Associated Press obituary of Vincent, written by Blum