MLBPA power struggle likely to end in a vote on union boss Tony Clark’s leadership
Do Harry Marino and his supporters have enough votes to remove Tony Clark as head of the Major League Baseball Players Association? The showdown between Marino and the unionâs leaders, Clark and his No. 2, Bruce Meyer, might hinge on that answer, according to interviews with people briefed on the situation. Some club player reps are said to be taking informal polls within their clubhouses on Clarkâs future already, two people briefed on the votes said Wednesday night.
As a firestorm still rages behind the scenes a full two days after news broke that a mutiny was underway inside the union, both sides are campaigning heavily, talking to players and agents on the phone all day, trying to rally support for their respective causes.
A group of players and agents who want a new direction at the union on Monday night asked Clark to remove Meyer â the third time that request was made recently, one person briefed on the discussions said. Their complaints are not related only to collective bargaining, but to how the union is generally run, from concerns about a lack of communication to poor vision and questionable budgeting. Some players seek an audit of the unionâs spending.
Inside the MLBPA, Marinoâs effort is seen as a coup by a power-hungry young lawyer and disgruntled agents who are backing him. Thereâs no indication Clark is going to remove Meyer, at least not based on whatâs happened so far. But the executive director also typically controls staff hirings and firings. A vote would not typically be the means of hiring or firing someone at Meyerâs level. Thatâs in Clarkâs purview.
Ultimately, then, if Clark wonât make a personnel change that some players want, the matter could come down to whether those players have enough votes to remove Clark. If that happened, Marino himself, at age 33, could take over.
Wednesday night, Marino said in a statement that he was not actively seeking Clarkâs job.
âTo set the record straight, I have never campaigned for Tony Clarkâs job,â Marino said. âIn fact, I made clear to Tony my desire to work together with him as recently as two days ago.
âAlthough the narrative of a palace coup or a heated political campaign will grab headlines, the truth of what has happened the past week is much less sexy: major league players found and utilized their voice to remove a lead negotiator they didnât want and to demand an audit of how their hard-earned dues money is being spent,â Marino continued.
âWhen all is said and done, both major league and minor league players will have a union that looks more like the MLBPA they actually want than the MLBPA they had when players drafted me into assisting them with this process,â he said.
A vote among the 72-player executive board is believed to be sufficient to remove an executive director. The group comprises 38 major leaguers and 34 minor leaguers. Electing a new boss, however, might require a membership-wide vote; thatâs how Clark was elected in 2013. The entire membership has grown by more than 5,000 players since then, following the MLBPAâs unionization of the minor leaguers. Marino led the organization of the minor leaguers, building strong relationships across the group.
The ball, though, seems effectively to be in Marinoâs court. There seems to be no proactive step needed at this point for Clark and Meyer to remain in their roles, technically, even if it would be difficult politically for one or both moving forward. But there is a proactive step required for Marino and his backers to make a change â a formal vote on Clark.
Marinoâs campaign is focused on rank-and-file players, rather than top players who make top dollar, such as Scott Boras clients. What Marino would change about baseballâs economic system isnât clear yet, though. MLB owners have long touted a salary cap as a means of redistributing pay to players, but players have long balked at a cap, believing it hurts their overall economic standing in the long run.
No matter the outcome, the chaos inside and around the union has been damaging to the playersâ overall strength, at least for now. Just two years remain before the union, and whoever leads it, will be negotiating the next collective bargaining agreement with MLBâs highly capable labor relations department â ahead of a presumed lockout that would begin in December 2026.
(Photo of Clark: Jose Luis Magana / Associated Press)
