Former MLB commissioner Fay Vincent passed away yesterday due to complications of bladder cancer, according to a report from George Vecsey of the New York Times earlier today. He was 86 years old. Commissioner Rob Manfred issued a statement about Vincent’s passing this afternoon in the aftermath of the report.
“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,” the statement reads. “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. On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my deepest condolences to Fay’s family and friends.”
Vincent took over as commissioner on September 13, 1989, in the aftermath of former commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti’s sudden death due to a heart attack. Vincent was deputy commissioner at the time and almost immediately faced a major crisis when, as Manfred’s statement referenced, the 1989 World Series between the Giants and Athletics was forced to halt due to a major earthquake that wreaked havoc on the Bay Area. The World Series was paused for a week while the surrounding area rebuilt, but resumed a week later under the guidance of Vincent.
That was far from the only important moment during Vincent’s brief tenure as commissioner, however. Vincent took over as commissioner ahead of a fractious time for baseball when relations between the Players Association and ownership were more hostile than ever before. Vincent presided over a lockout in 1990 that delayed the start of the season but ultimately did not involve cancelled games, but in avoiding the loss of games Vincent lost the faith of the owners, who viewed him as too pro-player as he tried to mend relations between the league and the players’ union after the collusion scandal of the 1980s. The league’s owners gathered in September of 1992 and gave Vincent an 18-9 vote of no-confidence, and he was fired shortly thereafter before being replaced with then-Brewers owner Bud Selig. Famously, the sport went on to suffer through a protracted players’ strike and cancelled World Series in 1994 amid Selig’s attempts to implement a salary cap.
“I don’t want to work for these guys,” Vincent said of the owners in an interview with Tyler Kepner of The Athletic when reflecting on his time as commissioner in November 2024. “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.”
Aside from labor issues and his handling of the 1989 World Series, Vincent’s tenure included a number of other notable moments. He suspended Yankees owner George Steinbrenner for paying $40K in exchange for damaging information regarding outfielder Dave Winfield, though Steinbrenner was later reinstated in 1993. He also created and served as the chairman for a committee on historical accuracy that more strictly defined no-hitters and removed the asterisk from the AL home run record held by Roger Maris. Notably, Vincent was the one to circulate a 1991 memo reaffirming that players were banned from taking performance-enhancing drugs and other illegal substances. That memo, of course, was not enforced due largely to resistance from the players’ union and the owners’ disinterest in pursuing mandatory drug testing at the time.
Although Vincent’s tenure at the helm of MLB was relatively brief, he made a number of key decisions during that short time and benefited the game by ensuring the continuation of the 1989 World Series and avoiding cancelled games in 1990. MLBTR joins the rest of the baseball world in extending our condolences to Vincent’s friends and loved ones.
Respected Mr. Vincent. That was back when commissioners made a difference. Sad to hear of his passing. RIP
Here was a man (like Bart Giamati) who understood baseball as the people’s game and that there should be a balance between the needs of the owners, players and fans. Selig began The Fall and Rob Manfred has taken the Commissioner’s role to a new low.
May Fay RIP.
And yet, the commissioner always has and always will work exclusively for the owners, and commissioners who don’t remember that tend to have short tenures.
Pete – Well said. Fay will forever be the last real MLB commissioner.
RIP Mr. Vincent, thoughts and prayers to your loved ones.
More deserving of the Hall of Fame than Bud Selig.
RIP.
I couldn’t agree more
Vincent was the last real commissioner, when the clause, “In The Best Interest of Baseball” still meant something. But once the owners decided it may be in the best interest of baseball but not theirs they kicked him down the stairs & they put in their puppet regime & changed the clause to, “In The Best Interest of Owners” The owner’s press release on Vincent’s passing that they told robby boy to sign & release is pathetic, plain & simple, plain & fu#*€*& simple. They should be ashamed of theirselves.
The “best interest” clause was never changed because “of the owners” is always what it meant, and no commissioner who interpreted it otherwise lasted long. Fay Vincent is Exhibit A.
I’m gonna tell Bud you said that and he’ll have you banned from all MLB ballparks, offices, and other properties in an instant. Don’t you dare disrespect Allan H. “Bud” Selig again, kid
He outlived his arch nemesis…..Pete Rose
A+ post.
Left the game with his integrity intact….
This is a man who truly loved the institution of baseball. He tried to balance the interests of owners, layers, and fans to better the game for all. Contrast that with the stoolies who took over from him, Siegheil and Manfraud!
Tried, and failed — because this balance is impossible to achieve if you are employed by one of those interests.
Damn BlueSkies. I know you’ve been arguing with people on this website for years about Manfred but Mr Vincent just died. Let people remember and celebrate his legacy. Show some class and take your tongue off of Robbie’s boot.
What a maroon. Every ball fan who was around at the time rooted for Vincent. But the sound we heard when Selig replaced him was of ownership slamming the door and locking it on the idea that the commissioner works for anybody but them. Fay Vincent tried to do the impossible, and he’ll always be remembered for trying to roll that boulder up that hill. But it was still impossible. Lessons to be learned, friend. Try it sometime.
Yeah you love sticking up for owners and their lapdogs but I disagree with you. I think Fay accomplished many of his goals and made the game better.
RIP Fay Vincent. Ignore the trolls
well the commissioner is hired by teams ownerships and he is backed by them. the media and fans promote and back the union players. there….
I think you hit exactly on the problem Joe. Fans and players have no say in who the commissioner is. MLB should have its antitrust protection stripped or be required to let more than just the owners vote on the commissioner job. We let these teams rip off fans and taxpayers, we pay for their stadiums under threat of losing our teams. We should have some say in the process. A fan, player and owner vote could easily be done and probably would bring interest back into the game. You’re right on how it’s currently constructed but I don’t agree that it should be that way. Just my 2 cents
Love the screen name, Murray Rothbard! I went to Hillsdale College which featured the Ludwig von Mises library. I took two classes in Austrian economics, including the work of Rothbard.
There should be an Office of the Commissioner with a Commissioner representing the institution of baseball, an owners representative, and a union rep.
The owners chose to fire Vincent for avoiding the worst strike in MLB history only to have it happen anyway under their own puppet. I wonder if those same owners (oddly, only Jerry Reinsdorf is still around from those days) were around today would they put up with Manfred’s shenanigans.
R.I.P. Fay
The only commissioner I respected while growing up with the sport. He deserved better.
LOL Dave Winfield debacle. Good work Fay. RIP.
You must have a hell of a memory that he was commissioner during that episode,you should be on Jeopardy.
Sports Jeopardy! Now you’re talking.
Is there sports version or are you making it up?
He hired a low life to get something against Winfield after Dave sued his ass for failure to pay guaranteed money. Fascinating.
It’s ironic after the Incident killing seagull in Toronto years later he signs with Jays and wins his only World Series in 1992.,
Maybe the most underappreciated man in baseball history? For such a short tenure as commissioner, he handled a lot of big issues and handled them all with class and integrity.
That 18-9 “no confidence” vote shows he wasn’t bought n paid for in owners back pocket. RIP
Sorry, I find humor in this statement. Bought and paid for by the people who, in fact, bought and paid for him?
I can’t think of a better endorsement of his tenure.
Likely the last impartial commissioner the game will have. RIP.
RIP
He tried to stop steroid use by sending a memo to the owners. One of those owners, Selig, took over and let steroid use become the norm. Bud even would give conflicting stories about when he first learned of players using roids but it’s always while he was commissioner. Manfred and Selig are cheating slime balls who never cared about the game as much as increasing owner profits. Now Selig is in the HOF but the steroid users who made him wealthy are kept out.
Last commish who wasn’t a puppet of the owners.
not sure what it would take for the current system of commissioners just being owner proxies continuing forever. what do you all think it would take?
Players just need to stay unionized. Labor in all sectors in general. Ownership not like us….
What I wouldn’t do to get a union in my job in central, Florida. Our ownership changes the rules in the middle of the game every other month. We got extra money for working Sundays. Ownership ‘grandfathered’ it out. We had bonuses for inventory being accurate. They gave us petty raises to pacify us and got rid of the bonuses for inventory being accurate. More production and less hours to meet it in, as well as fewer employees while profits are up by 10% from last year. Our stock goes down after we make profits like that because ‘well, our competitors stock went down’. It’s a joke, and we just keep letting the ownership and corporate line their pockets because most of the groups of employees don’t have the guts to stand up to management and talk about getting a union ship vote started. The rich are rich for a reason. They have all of the power.
And also,, RIP Mr. Vincent. I was only 9 when they booted you out, but I wish I could’ve enjoyed the game when you ran it. The last great commissioner. To hell with Manfraud and $elig.
The last MLB Commish who had a moment’s thought about the fans or the integrity of the game. By last, I mean “last” because the Owners will never hire anyone like him again.
It’s a difficult job. In most cases, the plusses of each MLB commissioner have outweighed the minuses. The only bad commissioner in MLB history was the first one, Kennesaw Mountain Landis.
You must be on crack or were in a coma during $elig and Manfrauds tenure.
Bowie Kuhn?
I really wonder what Giamatti might have done had he not passed. He was an interesting character. RIP Fay Vincent, you did your best.
No mention of lifetime ban of Pete Rose for gambling…surprised it was excluded
Giamatti was person that did that not Fay Vincent,
Thanks for the clarification. Long time ago guess I got confused
Baseball has lost a good man. RIP, Mr. Vincent.
Fay Vincent was the last true commissioner. Baseball went to hell after he was removed for owners “yes” men.