farm director, he sustained a dynasty with the Yankees in the 1950s. As a general manager, he built one from scratch with the Orioles in the 1960s. As league president, he showed a knack for ending conflict with reason. And he did it all in a quiet, low-key style that further enhanced his reputation for being trustworthy.

"It was a byproduct of his personality. He had selflessness and an understanding of the issue of the game, and his ability to look at things from the other guy's point of view,'' Andy MacPhail said. "People trusted him because over time, they realized there wasn't some angle that was going to benefit him.''

That credibility served MacPhail particularly well when he took over as AL president. In that position, he evolved intoa critical role as a labor negotiator, working on behalf of the owners in talks with the union. His reserved demeanor brought needed stability.

With players and owners mired in a stalemate that stopped play in the middle of the 1981 season, MacPhail painstakingly crafted a compromise that eventually allowed the games to go on. In 1985, he again intervened to broker a deal that limited the players' strike to two days. He hosted the talks himself, offering his Manhattan apartment as a venue for negotiators to forge the labor truce.

"His hallmarks were dignity, common sense and humility,'' commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement. "He was not only a remarkable league executive but was a true baseball man, as is evidenced by his brilliant leadership of the storied