Fay Vincent, baseball commissioner during three years of turmoil, dies at 86
NEW YORK — Fay Vincent, who became an unexpected baseball commissioner in 1989 following the death of A. Bartlett Giamatti and then was forced out three years later by owners intent on a labor confrontation with players, has died.
NEW YORK — Fay Vincent, who became an unexpected baseball commissioner in 1989 following the death of A. Bartlett Giamatti and then was forced out three years later by owners intent on a labor confrontation with players, has died. He was 86.
Vincent had undergone radiation and chemotherapy for bladder cancer and developed complications that included bleeding, said his wife, Christina. He asked that treatment be stopped and died Saturday at a hospital in Vero Beach, Florida.
“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,” current commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement.
A lawyer who became a movie studio executive at the behest of a college friend, Vincent had been retired for three decades and lived in New Canaan, Connecticut, and Vero Beach.
During his three-year tenure as commissioner, Vincent had a string of what he called “three-cigar days,” angering owners by becoming the first management official to admit the collusion among teams against free agents following the 1985, ‘86 and ’87 seasons. He suspended the Yankees’ George Steinbrenner, divided expansion fees among both leagues, attempted to force National League realignment and negotiated a settlement that ended a 1990 spring training lockout.
Rating: 5