06.23.09 PREPARE FOR BASEBALL’S WEINER ERA

Donald Fehr announced yesterday that he will be leaving his post as head of the MLB players’ union within the next nine months, allowing his successor enough time to unpack his office and find out where the cafeteria is before negotiating baseball’s next labor deal, which expires in December of 2011. Fehr has recommended that some dude named Michael Weiner replace him. Weiner has been the players’ general counsel since 2004. From Y! Sports:

“I think I have some sense of what I’m getting into,” Weiner said.

As part of the succession plan, Weiner met Monday in the union’s conference room with Fehr and the 92-year-old Marvin Miller, Fehr’s predecessor.

“I think that he’s a bright guy,” Miller said. “He’s certainly not lacking in experience. He’s got the background for it.”

Fehr leaves behind a 16-year legacy of sharp gains in player salaries after negotiating five union agreements in MLB, but also a relatively passive stance on performance-enhancing drugs that have all the Puritans’ purists’ panties in a bunch. Oh, and there was that whole strike thing in 1994 that wiped out the postseason.

Weiner’s rise to power has to be rubber-stamped by the union’s executive board. And I look forward to acting like a third-grader again when Mr. Weiner is spearheading the union into labor negotiations. This will be one hard-working weiner for sure.