The mission of the MLB Players Association remains resolute, even after the sudden resignation of its longtime leader, Tony Clark.
That was the message from MLBPA deputy executive director Bruce Meyer after Clark stepped down amid scandal less than 10 months before the union’s collective bargaining agreement with MLB is set to expire.
“We don’t expect anything to change in terms of bargaining,” Meyer, 64, said Wednesday after meeting with Kansas City Royals players in Surprise, Ariz.
“We’ve been preparing for bargaining for years. Players have been preparing. Players know what’s coming. At the end of the day, leadership is important and leadership comes and goes, but what remains is the players.”
Clark, 53, resigned Tuesday, reportedly after an internal investigation found he had an inappropriate relationship with his sister-in-law, an MLBPA employee since 2023.
That revelation, which ESPN first reported, came amid an ongoing federal probe into alleged financial impropriety by the MLBPA.
“The information that really led to this came out within the last … 72 hours or so. So this is not something that has been kind of sat on,” Meyer said.
“When the information came out, the players on the subcommittee made their feelings known. And Tony, to his credit, he’s always been about the players first, and Tony decided to take the action he did in the interest of the players.”
Clark — a 15-year MLB first baseman who played for the Mets and Yankees — became the MLBPA executive director in 2013. He oversaw negotiations for the previous two CBAs, including the 2022 deal that followed a 99-day lockout.
But Meyer, a trial lawyer hired by MLBPA in 2018, was the lead negotiator for the current CBA. Meyer, who became deputy director in 2022, expects to remain the lead negotiator this time around.
The threat of another lockout hangs over the upcoming negotiations, as does the threat of MLB having to cancel regular season games for the first time since 1995.
That’s because many of the MLB owners are expected to push for a salary cap that would curtail the lopsided spending of a few teams, including the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The MLBPA has long rejected a cap, which Meyer on Wednesday called “the ultimate restriction.”
Meyer’s meeting with the Royals kicked off the MLBPA’s tour of spring training visits, which was originally scheduled to start Wednesday with the Cleveland Guardians before Clark’s unexpected exit.
“Just on a personal level, I think we’re all fairly devastated by things that have happened in the last 48, 72 hours,” Meyer said.
“I’m not going to go beyond that in terms of personal feelings, but it’s fair to say that we were all personally upset, concerned about Tony. But I think this was something that the players determined had to happen at this particular point in time.”
With News Wire Services
