Former MLB Commissioner Fay Vincent Dies At 86
Former MLB Commissioner Fay Vincent died at the age of 86 on Sunday. According to his family, he died of complications from bladder cancer. He served as Major League Baseball’s eighth commissioner from 1989-1992. Current MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred released a statement on the heels of Vincent’s passing. His statement said in part: “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.
“On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my deepest condolences to Fay’s family and friends.” Vincent resigned as MLB Commissioner after realizing he was working for owners who did not want him in the job. 18 of the 28 owners asked for his resignation. He was succeeded by Bud Selig as commissioner. How will Vincent’s tenure be remembered?
Vincent’s Commissionership
Commissioner of Baseball Robert D. Manfred, Jr. issued the following statement today regarding the passing of former Commissioner Fay Vincent, who served Major League Baseball in that capacity from 1989-1992, at the age of 86:
“Fay Vincent played a vital role in ensuring that… pic.twitter.com/xrk2McWjVl
— MLB (@MLB) February 2, 2025
Even though Vincent did not have a lengthy time as commissioner, his impact on the game is still felt. He took over after the sudden death of MLB Commissioner Bart Giamatti. Vincent certainly loved baseball but entered the game at a difficult time. He contented with a 1990 lockout and attempted to rebuild trust between the league and MLBPA regarding collusion against free agents in the 1980s. Certain teams would not bid on free agents during that time.
That was when his tenure as MLB Commissioner took a turn for the worse. The owners believed this collusion would hurt their bargaining power in the next CBA negotiations, and Vincent’s olive branch made the owners uneasy. That ultimately led to him resigning in 1994. This saga set the stage for the cancellation of the 1994 World Series. Fortunately for the league in the ensuing 30 years they have not missed any games due to strikes/lockouts.
Final Thoughts
Vincent’s time as MLB Commissioner did not go according to plan, but he made some positive strides during his tenure. His biggest contribution was his insistence the union and MLB owners must put aside their differences to make sure a strike like 1994-1995 never happens again.
His own words spelled out what he thought his lasting contribution to the league was: “I wanted to help baseball and I wasn’t at all successful. But it turned out maybe I helped them because they realized, after 1994, that there was no way they were ever going to get anywhere at war with the Union. So they kept the war, sort of, with ordinary weapons.”
