Donald Fehr retired as the leader of the MLB Players' association yesterday. Here's what some are saying about his impact on the game:
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes that Fehr leaves a strong legacy of serving players that's tarnished only by their use of steroids.
- Phil Sheridan of the Philadelphia Inquirer says Fehr's legacy is best explained by Alex Rodriguez, who signed massive contracts but used PEDs.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post says Fehr, like Scott Boras, gets a hard time just for doing his job. However, Fehr pursued bigger contracts so aggressively that players' health and reputations suffered.
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney says Fehr "effectively wielded the sentiment of baseball fans as a weapon" to represent his players' best ineterests.
- Yahoo's Gordon Edes says Fehr has a "steroid-stiched badge of dishonor" attached to his legacy. Still, Edes predicts the union will never be as strong as it was in Fehr's heyday.
- This Jerry Crasnick article on ESPN.com portrays Michael Weiner, who will replace Fehr, as humble and well liked.