We are still over two months away from the start of spring training for the 2010 Major League Baseball season. But already this offseason, a change has been made that could have dramatic ramifications for the future of the sport.

Last Wednesday, the Major League Baseball Players Association approved Michael Weiner as the union’s new executive director, replacing long-time leader Donald Fehr, who announced his retirement last June.

Weiner inherits one of the most powerful jobs in professional sports. As head of the union, he will be the chief negotiator on behalf of the players, tasked with reaching agreements with team owners on a variety of issues ranging from steroid testing to player salaries.

While his job is the same as his predecessor’s – to represent the interests of the players – the question now is how his leadership style will change the relationship between the two sides at the bargaining table.

The two prior executive directors of the players union – Marvin Miller and Fehr – were known for their confrontational styles, willing to do whatever it took to advance the goals of the players, even if it meant damaging the sport at times.

Some of their efforts were reasonable, including their advocacy for the players’ right to a reasonable share of league revenues and the ability to declare free agency. In 1968, just two years into his tenure as director, Miller successfully negotiated the first collective bargaining agreement with owners, which raised the minimum salary from $6,000 to $10,000. Seven years later, players were granted free agency and allowed to sign with whatever team they pleased. His work has paid huge dividends, as the league minimum today is $400,000, with the average salary just below $3 million.

Of course, the union’s actions have not always been the most popular with fans. Since 1972, the players union has gone on strike five different times. The 1994-1995 strike was the most notable and devastating for the sport because it forced the cancellation of the 1994 World Series, marking the first time the Fall Classic had not been played since 1902.

In addition, the union’s unwillingness to confront steroid use and support drug testing cast a shadow on the players in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Citing privacy concerns, Fehr was adamantly opposed to testing, concerned that the salaries of users would plummet if they were forced to give up their advantage. Only when clean players began coming forward, tired of constantly being accused of performance-enhancing drug use and facing a competitive disadvantage against those players who did use steroids, did the union finally allow limited drug testing in 2002, with a stronger program approved in 2005.

Since the 1995 strike, however, MLB has not had any kind of labor stoppage. And though Weiner is known for being much more conciliatory and receptive to owners’ demands than his predecessors, he will be confronted with a number of issues early on in his tenure that will test his ability to advocate for the players while maintaining labor peace.

The format of the amateur player draft is the first issue that will have to be addressed before the current basic agreement expires in December 2011. While both sides agree players from outside of the United States should also be included in the draft – they currently are free to sign with whatever team they choose – the players are vehemently opposed to instituting a “slotting system,” which would assign a fixed salary to each player drafted according to where he is selected.

Owners are concerned that they are paying top picks too much money, with no guarantee they will ever make it to the big leagues. Washington Nationals rookie pitcher Stephen Strasburg best exemplifies this problem. Even though the Nationals were thrilled to have the opportunity to take the talented Strasburg first in this year’s draft, they were extremely reluctant to offer him the $15.1 million contract he wanted, potentially limiting the team’s ability to address its other needs.

Owners contend that a “slotting system” would be beneficial to both sides because it would reduce the owners’ risk of paying unproven talents while allowing a greater percentage of salaries to go to more established players. But Weiner has already declared his resistance to such a proposal.

“This union has always stood for the proposition that . players should have the right to bargain individually for their compensation,” Weiner told the Associated Press.

Human growth hormone testing could be a second source of conflict. While the use of HGH is technically prohibited from the sport, current urine tests are unable to detect the hormone. Weiner has repeated his union’s opposition to the implementation of any future blood-testing system, citing concerns it would be too much of an intrusion into the privacy of the players.

The final and most contentious issue facing both sides is the issue of revenue-sharing and the potential for a salary floor. Last week Red Sox owner John Henry criticized the current revenue sharing system – which takes revenue from high-grossing teams to help subsidize the payrolls of small-market clubs – because some teams receiving funds do not spend their entire allotment on players. Henry has argued a payroll floor should be part of the next agreement to ensure greater competitiveness and better use of these funds.

While it would seem logical for the players to support a payroll minimum – to guarantee that teams spend a certain amount on player salaries – Weiner is worried a floor could lead to talks about instituting a corresponding salary cap, something the union has always opposed.

“Players historically have suspected that the request for a salary floor is a precursor to a request for a salary cap, and you know what the position of this union has been on salary caps,” Weiner said.

The next round of negotiations is still over two years away, but the main sources of disagreement are already well established. Although MLB executives have commended Weiner for his amicable bargaining style, it remains to be seen whether his approach will facilitate solutions to these points of conflict.

Baseball fans have been spoiled by not having any labor stoppages for 14 consecutive seasons. But now it is Weiner’s responsibility to fight for his union’s interests without disrupting this harmony.

Nick Macri is a junior in the College. The Big Picture appears in every other Tuesday issue of Hoya Sports.”