02/18/26 02:23:00
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02/18 14:21 CST No. 2 baseball union official Bruce Meyer shaken by events that
led to Clark's resignation
No. 2 baseball union official Bruce Meyer shaken by events that led to Clark's
resignation
By DAVID BRANDT
AP Baseball Writer
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."
___
AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
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