NEW YORK — His manor and his undeterred pursuit of his constituency’s goals may have rubbed some the wrong way, but union chief Don Fehr was universally regarded around the St. Louis Cardinals clubhouse on Monday as a strong advocate for his employers, the Major League Baseball players.

Fehr announced Monday his retirement from the leadership of the Major League Baseball Players Association. Players had been alerted to that likelihood recently, and told it was official earlier Monday.

“He had a very clear agenda — what was best for the players,” manager Tony La Russa said. “The priority is not the ownership and not the game, it’s making the membership happy.”

Adam Wainwright has been involved as a Cardinals’ union representative since his first year in the majors, and he assumed the lead role last season. Braden Looper had been the union rep immediately before 2008. Wainwright said the retirement did not come as a surprise because the players had been notified, nor did the timing of the announcement send up any flares.

“There’s no question about what he’s done for our union,” Wainwright said. “He’s been through thick and thin. (And) he held fast to what he believed in. That’s his job and that was the best thing for the players.”

Fehr oversaw more than two decades of baseball’s growth — decades that included labor strife, a World Series lost to a work stoppage, a recent era of labor peace, soaring salaries, record attendance, an advantageous joint online venture with the leagues and, of course, the smear of steroids.

“Don did a lot for the game,” Wainwright said. When asked if Fehr’s stance that benefited the players and their salaries may have actually helped lead to the era or steroid abuse or facilitated a sort of clubhouse omerta for users, Wainwright said, diplomatically: “I don’t think you can fault him for anything that happened. People got themselves into that situation. His stance on salaries and arbitration really, really helped players. But as for the (performance-enhancing) drugs, that was a personal choice, that wasn’t Don Fehr making those choices.

“Our union is strong because of people like Don Fehr.”

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