The Case of Marvin Miller
I have written repeatedly for 20 years now that Marvin Miller belongs in the Hall of Fame. I have written repeatedly for 20 years now that it goes beyond that — that the Hall of Fame is a lesser place without Marvin Miller.
Now Marvin Miller is back on the Hall of Fame ballot.
And it’s complicated.
A Hall of Famer is a person who made baseball or the experience of following baseball better. Miller didn't do that for anyone except the players. He had a large impact (although there are many people not in the Hall who had far greater impact: Bill James and Jose Canseco, for two) on salaries, although none on the game itself, and his impact was probably negative for most fans. That's a far cry from a Hall of Famer. There are literally thousands of people who deserve being in the Hall ahead of Miller. (Miller probably does deserve it more than Harold Baines, though.)