Martin Scheinman

Martin F. Scheinman

• School Cornell University, New York University

Biographical Information

Martin Scheinman took over as Major League Baseball's arbitrator at some point in 2021, replacing Mark Irvings, who had quietly been dismissed. Contrary to past practice, both Irvings' firing and the hiring of Scheinman had been kept quiet, and the news of the replacement came out when hearings were about to start on a major case in the summer of 2021, involving the shortening of the 2020 season because of the Coronavirus pandemic. In the case, the Players Association claimed that the owners had deliberately shortened the season to a bare minimum (60 games) in order to limit the amount of salary paid to players, while the owners argued that they had simply followed recommendations from public authorities regarding health and safety in a very uncertain and quickly evolving environment. The fact that the Collective Bargaining Agreement was about to expire made the case even more testy.

He had to oversee another very sensitive case in 2022 when pitcher Trevor Bauer appealed his record-setting two-year suspension in a case of domestic violence. He issued his ruling on December 22nd, cutting the suspension from 324 to 194 days - still the longest ever handed out by MLB in a domestic violence case.

Like his predecessors in the position, Scheinman has had an outstanding career as an arbitrator and mediator, dating back to 1979. Based in New York City, he originally specialized in labor/management disputes, but later branched out into business, consumer and employment matters. He is a lawyer by training and a member of various professional organizations that attest to his standing within the profession.

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