Shyam Das
From SoSH
Shyam Das is an Ivy League-educated labor relations attorney who has served as the sole arbitrator of grievance cases between MLB and the players' union (MLBPA) since 1999. He does not preside over any MLB salary arbitration cases.
Das was born on April 18, 1944 and received a BA in History from Harvard University in 1965, he received a MA in Social Sciences from University of Chicago in 1966, and his law degree from Yale University in 1969. He lives in the Philadelphia area and maintains offices in Haverford, PA and Pittsburgh, PA.
Das has been a member of the Pennsylvania Bar since 1974. Since 1977 he has been self employed as an arbitrator, having previously worked at the University of Pittsburgh Law School as a professor from 1971 through 1977, and a New York City law firm as an associate from 1969-71. He is a member of the American Arbitration Association, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the National Mediation Board, and the Pennsylvania Bureau of Mediation.
Das's resume does not list baseball or any other sport under his arbitrated industries. He lists Aerospace, Automobile, Beverage, Ceramic/Glass, Chemicals, Coal, Communications, Construction, Education, Federal Government, Gas/Electric Power, Health Care, Hotel/Casinos, Local Government, Maritime, Metals, Mining, Office/Clerical, Oil/Gas, Plastic, Police/Fire, Printing, Radio/TV, Ship Building, Transportation, Trucking, Utilities, and Defense. He has arbitrated almost every issue in the labor relations field.
A number of significant grievance cases arising from baseball's Collective Bargaining Agreement have come before Das including:
- MLB's suspension and fine of Atlanta Braves pitcher John Rocker in 2000 for disparaging remarks he made in interviews toward minorities, homosexuals and foreigners. In his ruling, Das rescinded the Spring Training suspension imposed by Commissioner Bud Selig, cut the one-month suspension that was to begin on Opening Day to two weeks [April 3 to April 17], cut the $20,000 fine to $500, and upheld the order for Rocker to attend sensitivity training. This was the first MLB case in which Das was called upon to render a verdict.
- MLB's attempt to contract from 30 teams to 28, thereby disbanding the Montreal Expos and Minnesota Twins from existence. Das met with the league and the MLBPA in November 2001 to schedule hearings on the issue, but ultimately his decision on the matter was not required. After the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission, operator of the Metrodome, won a court injunction requiring the Twins to play there in 2002, MLB was unable to revoke the Twins franchise and had to keep the club as part of the MLB schedule. MLB then abandoned its attempt to contract the Expos, instead orchestrating the sales of several other clubs. The Boston Red Sox were sold to a group led by Florida Marlins owner John W. Henry. The Marlins were then sold to Expos owner Jeffrey Loria, and MLB took temporary custody of the Expos.
- A dispute over the validity of a contract allegedly signed in 2009 by top prospect Pedro Alvarez with the team that drafted him, the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates claimed Alvarez had committed to contract terms and did so within an extended deadline agreed to by both parties and approved by MLB. The player's agent, Scott Boras, claimed he approved no such extension, and that the agreement was reached after the CBA-mandated deadline rendering it invalid. Boras maintained that since his client never signed a contract, and since MLB violated the CBA by allowing an extension, his client should be declared a free agent. On the first day of hearings, Das heard testimony from MLB Commissioner Bud Selig. However, 12 days later, and before any further testimony was heard by Das, Alvarez and the Pirates agreed to a reworked contract with Pittsburgh worth a a guaranteed $6.355 million, and the MLBPA dropped its grievance.
