Michael Weiner, the head of Major League Baseball’s players union, died on Thursday after battling a non-operable brain cancer. He was 51 years old. Former All-Star Tony Clark has taken over as acting executive director, and will be approved as Weiner’s successor in early December.
Weiner was diagnosed with glioblastoma in August 2012. He went through months of chemotherapy and radiation after his diagnosis, but they didn’t work that much. His oncologists put him on an experimental regimen that he said taxed his body and sapped his energy. Eventually Weiner became wheelchair-bound and paralyzed on his right side because of the tumor. Weiner died at his home in Mansfield Township, New Jersey.
MLB Commissioner Bud Selig called Weiner ''a gentleman, a family man, and an extraordinarily talented professional who earned the trust of his membership and his peers” according to the Associated Press.
'Our strong professional relationship was built on a foundation of respect and a shared commitment to finding fair solutions for our industry. I appreciated Michael's tireless, thoughtful leadership of the players and his pivotal role in the prosperous state of baseball today,'' Selig said via a statement. ''Michael was a courageous human being, and the final year of his remarkable life inspired so many people in our profession.''
Weiner, a graduate of Harvard Law School, was with the Players Association since 1988. He started as the staff attorney who was responsible for administering and enforcing the Basic agreement. In 2004 he was named general counsel and was in charge of all legal matters that involved the association, according to MLB.com. He succeeded Donald Fehr in December 2009 as head of the union. He was the organizations fourth head since 1966. He was a junior lawyer in the 1994-95 strike and in negotiations that led to a new labor agreement in March 1997. In November 2011 Weiner headed talks for restraints on signing bonuses for amateur players and increased the number of free agent s that could change teams without teams losing their draft picks. He also was a part of MLB’s Biogenesis investigation.
Weiner is survived by his wife, Diane Margolin, and three daughters Margie, Grace, and Sally.