New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles franchises. Lee always put the interests of the sport first and through his love of the game taught all of us to cherish it in every way.''

It hardly mattered that MacPhail lacked a deep background in labor law. By the time he retired from baseball, he had cemented his reputation as a consensus-builder admired by allies and adversaries alike.

"I am saddened to learn of Lee MacPhail's passing,'' former players' union chief Marvin Miller said in a statement. "Lee was a good man, trustworthy and honest, and I had a decent relationship with him over the years.''

MacPhail may be best remembered for feuding with the Yankees, particularly with George Steinbrenner during the 1983 pine tar incident, when he overturned the on-field ruling andallowed a go-ahead home run by the Royals' George Brett to stand up.

But according to his son, it was during MacPhail's time as the Yankees' farm director that he accomplished what he considered his greatest feat in the game. Under his guidance, the Yankees' farm system produced the core pieces of the championship teams that ruled the 1950s.

In statements after MacPhail's death, pitcher Whitey Ford praised him as "a good man'' who "was so talented at building winners'' and catcher Yogi Berra recalled him as "a smart man, a good baseball man . . . one of the best.''

In 1998, MacPhail was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, joining his father, Larry. In his remarks, he stayed true to form, never boasting about all that he had