Tony Clark steps down as head of MLB players’ union
A number of people have been aware of the ongoing inquiry, said Marcus Semien, the Mets infielder and a member of the union’s eight-person executive subcommittee. “This happening while the investigation is underway isn’t shocking for a subcommittee to consider, but it still stings and I’m still processing it.”
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During Tuesday’s meeting, the union’s executive board did not determine a successor. A person familiar with the discussions told The Associated Press that this detail wasn’t announced publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Bruce Meyer, the deputy executive director, is expected to take the lead as the primary negotiator in upcoming labor talks, as he did in 2021–22. After Clark and Rick Shapiro oversaw the 2016 negotiations, Meyer joined the union in August 2018 as senior director of collective bargaining and legal matters and was elevated to his current role in July 2022.
Semien suggested Clark’s departure is connected to the probe.
“I think so,” he remarked, “because before the investigations, I had complete confidence in Tony Clark to lead this player group. I also had complete confidence in Bruce Meyer to steer negotiations for this group.”
The decision comes ahead of anticipated collective bargaining talks set to begin in April to draft a new agreement to succeed the five-year labor contract that expires on December 1. Management appears inclined to propose a salary cap, a move that could provoke a work stoppage and potentially cancel regular-season games—the first since 1995.
Adam L. Braverman, a former U.S. associate deputy attorney general and former U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, was hired by the union’s executive subcommittee as outside counsel, according to two people familiar with the matter. They requested anonymity because the union had not publicly announced the hire.
On Monday, the union called off Tuesday’s planned start of its staff’s annual tour of the 30 spring training camps, which was to begin with the Guardians in the morning and the White Sox in the afternoon.
Clark, 53, a former All-Star first baseman, was the first player to lead the union. He played from 1995 to 2009 and became a union leader soon after his first executive board meeting in 1999.
Clark joined the union as director of player relations in 2010 and was promoted to deputy executive director in July 2013, when head Michael Weiner’s health declined due to a brain tumor. Weiner died in November that year, and Clark was elevated to executive director, following predecessors Marvin Miller, Kenneth Moffett, Donald Fehr, and Weiner.
Under Clark, players negotiated a December 2016 agreement, reached just hours before the prior deal expired, and another one in March 2022 after a 99-day lockout.
Meyer, 64, spent three decades at Weil, Gotshal & Manges before joining the NHL Players Association in 2016 as senior director of collective bargaining, policy, and legal affairs.
Three members of the subcommittee—Jack Flaherty, Lucas Giolito, and Ian Happ—were among the players who, in March 2024, supported removing Meyer in a campaign led by former union lawyer Harry Marino. Clark backed Meyer; the effort failed, and those three players were removed from the subcommittee in December.
The subcommittee voted 8–0 against approving the 2022 labor contract, with Meyer advocating a deal more favorable to the union. The broader group of team player representatives voted 26–4 in favor, resulting in a 26–12 ratification overall.
Besides Semien, the current subcommittee includes Chris Bassitt, Jake Cronenworth, Pete Fairbanks, Cedric Mullins, Paul Skenes, Tarik Skubal, and Brent Suter.
OneTeam, since its formation, has expanded to include the players’ associations of the WNBA, MLS, NWSL, and the U.S. women’s national soccer team. RedBird sold its stake in 2019 to a consortium including HPS Investment Partners, Atlantic Park Strategic Capital Fund, and Morgan Stanley Tactical Value.
