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No. 2 baseball union official Bruce Meyer shaken by events that led to Clark's resignation
SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — The No. 2 official of the baseball players' association was shaken by the events culminating in the resignation of union head Tony Clark and said the change in leadership will not alter bargaining preparations ahead of talks in which Major League Baseball is expected to push for a salary cap.
“Just on a personal level I think we’re all fairly devasted by things that have happened in the last 48, 72 hours,” deputy executive director Bruce Meyer said Wednesday. “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."
A former All-Star first baseman who headed the union since 2013, Clark resigned Tuesday just months ahead of the expected start of bargaining for a labor contract to replace the deal that expires Dec. 1.
He was asked to resign by the union's eight-man executive subcommittee after an investigation by the union’s outside counsel discovered evidence Clark had an inappropriate relationship with his sister-in-law, a union employee since 2023, a person familiar with the union’s deliberations told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because that was not announced.
“The information that really led to this came out within the last ... 72 hours or so,” Meyer said. “So this is not something that has been kind of sat on. 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 did not respond to a text seeking comment.
The start of annual tour of spring training camps by union officials was pushed back a day and began Wednesday with the Kansas City Royals.
The union's executive board was to meet online for the second straight day and Royals player representative John Schreiber said he expects a decision late Wednesday on a successor to lead the union through collective bargaining.
“We’ll see how the meeting goes today,” Schreiber said. "We’re going on the right path and we’ll have a decision shortly.”
Meyer, hired by Clark in 2018, headed the 2021-22 negotiations that led to an agreement on March 10 that ended a 99-day lockout. Meyer was promoted to deputy executive director in July 2022.
“I don’t anticipate that anybody’s going to be leading negotiations other than me,” Meyer said.
Clark's departure took place during a probe by the U.S. Attorney in Brooklyn, New York, into OneTeam Partners, a licensing company founded by the union, the NFL Players Association and RedBird Capital Partners in 2019.
“There have been some issues hanging over, as you know, and in some respects it’s good to get them out of the way sooner rather than later,” Meyer said.
Meyer said the union's entire executive board of 72 players is eligible to vote for executive director: the executive subcommittee, 30 major league team player representatives and 34 minor leaguers, who have been represented by the union since 2022.
MLB appears on track to propose a salary cap, which possibly could lead to a work stoppage that causes regular-season games to be canceled for the first time since 1995.
“We don’t expect anything to change in terms of bargaining,” Meyer said. “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. At the end of the day, it’s the players who determine the direction of the union. At the end of the day, it’s the players who determine our priorities and bargaining. Those priorities obviously have not changed and will not change."
The union said it will resist a salary cap.
“Our position and the historic position of this union for decades on a salary cap is well known,” Meyer said. “It’s the ultimate restriction. It’s something that owners in all the sports have wanted more than anything and in baseball in particular there’s a reason for that, because it’s good for them and not good for players.”
The 64-year-old Meyer spent 30 years at Weil, Gotshal & Manges before joining the NHL Players Association in 2016 as senior director of collective bargaining, policy and legal. He wouldn't say whether he wants to succeed Clark as union head.
Meyer wouldn't directly address whether the union intends to restrict the hiring of family members.
“I think it’s fair to say there are issues that will be addressed,” he said. “There are various issues that will be evaluated, re-evaluated with the advice of counsel and, as always, at the direction of players.”
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AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
