Fehr, Head of Baseball Players Union, Will Retire

Baseball players union chief Donald Fehr said today he’ll retire by March 31, the New York Times reports. His likely replacement as executive director will be Michael Weiner, the union’s general counsel. In Fehr’s 26 years at the helm, the average player salary rose from $289,000 to $3.24 million. But Fehr, 60, also seen his share of scandals, most notably performance-enhancing drugs.

Until 2002, Fehr’s union strenuously opposed mandatory drug testing for players, saying it violated civil liberties. Then the Mitchell report exposed widespread steroid use and implicated almost 100 players. “It turned out it was larger than we thought it was,” Fehr told Congress. Before becoming director, Fehr litigated for the union and helped win a landmark appeal freeing players from permanent contracts. (More Donald Fehr stories.)