With less than a year to go before Major League Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement expires, Tony Clark has stepped down as executive director of the MLBPA.
Player leaders have called for a meeting on Tuesday at 4:30pm ET to discuss a succession strategy, with current deputy director Bruce Meyer viewed as a possible replacement for Clark. The 53 year old’s resignation comes in the wake of an ongoing investigation into the financials of OneTeam Partners, which is a licensing group that is partly owned by the MLBPA.
“This happening during the investigation is not overly surprising,” said Marcus Semien who is a member of the MLBPA’s executive subcommittee. “But it still hurts. It’s still something I’m processing, and I just want our player group to move forward this year and be able to have a good year of negotiating with leadership that cares about what players want.”
“The timing being February, when we’re looking forward to December when the CBA expires, is better than it happening in November if something came out.”
Angels LHP Brent Suter, another member of the executive subcommittee, told reporters that the Players’ Association has an interim director in mind and do not plan to go with an outside hire at the moment. “We’re going to have an interim [director] and keep everything as stable as we can this year,” said Suter.
The departures could ultimately usher in a new era with the MLBPA, however they come at an inopportune time. With the upcoming CBA negotiations likely hinging on whether the league will implement a salary cap or not, professional baseball in North America finds itself at a crossroads heading into the 2026 season.
Photo: Staff Sgt. Jason Duhr. This file is a work of a U.S. Army soldier or employee, taken or made as part of that person’s official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, it is in the public domain in the United States.