New MLBPA chief Meyer ‘passionate’ in backing player rights

PHOENIX — New MLBPA interim executive director Bruce Meyer said he had mixed feelings about taking over as the union’s No. 1 decision-maker after former executive director Tony Clark resigned earlier this week.

“I’m obviously not happy with the circumstances that led up to it,” Meyer said Thursday in his first comments since being elevated. “I feel for Tony as we all do. None of us expected this, and can’t say that anybody is celebrating anything at this point, but I’ve been representing players in all the unions for almost exactly 40 years. So I’ve dedicated my career to protecting and advancing player rights, and it’s something I’ve always been passionate about.”

Previously the union’s deputy executive director, Meyer, 65, was elected interim executive director by unanimous vote in a conference call with player reps Wednesday night after Clark resigned following an internal investigation that revealed an inappropriate relationship with a union employee.

Meyer takes over at a crucial time for the union, just weeks from beginning negotiations with the league on a new collective bargaining agreement. The current one expires in December.

He was asked if anyone from the league office reached out to him after the vote Wednesday.

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“I’ll say [MLB deputy commissioner] Dan Halem gave me a call last night, and he was very nice, very gracious, very classy,” Meyer said. “Despite occasional reports of the contrary, we have a good relationship, professional relationship, and I appreciate it.”

Meyer and Halem faced off the last time the sides negotiated a CBA, which nearly led to regular-season games being canceled. The same fight is brewing, with the elephant in the room being MLB owners’ potential desire for a salary cap. Baseball is the only professional sport without one.

“We don’t believe in a system that’s basically a zero-sum game that says if we pay you, we’ve got to take that out of the pocket of another player,” Meyer said. “That’s how the other systems work. … What happens is the top guys get paid and then everyone else gets what’s left over.”

The league believes the system needs an overhaul because the smaller markets are unable to compete with the bigger ones. Both sides have arguments for a path to more economic parity in payroll, but can they come together on an idea to avoid a work stoppage? It’s doubtful based on early rhetoric, with Meyer saying Wednesday, “A lockout is all but guaranteed at the end of the agreement.”

Meyer worked for the NHLPA and NFLPA before joining the MLBPA in 2019. This is the first time he will be the head of a union, though he has been the lead negotiator for MLB since coming on board with them. He was asked if being executive director had ever crossed his mind.

“I’m not going to say it’s never crossed my mind, that it would be something that I would be good at or be able to make a contribution to players at, so sure,” he said. “I was operating under the assumption that Tony was going to be here for a long time, and that’s really all I was thinking about was doing my job, helping others do their jobs and ultimately helping players.”

Meyer is considered somewhat of a hardliner, even urging members to vote down the deal that was eventually agreed upon during the last round of CBA talks. It nearly cost him and Clark their jobs two years ago when a group of players wanted new leadership. But he won enough support this week after Clark’s departure, with the union showing solidarity in electing him unanimously.

“I love that people weren’t hesitant to ask questions, but ultimately everyone was on the same page when it came time to make a decision,” Chicago Cubs player rep Nico Hoerner said.

Meyer admitted disagreements among players, agents and union leadership are bound to appear as negotiations heat up, but he is hopeful they will stay in-house. He pushed back on one label — that his concerns for players reside mostly with the highest-paid ones, especially those represented by agent Scott Boras.

“I almost don’t want to dignify it,” Meyer said. “Scott is an agent, represents a lot of players. He has no more influence over the running of the union than any other agent. And the continuous suggestions to the contrary, which I believe are mostly originated by the league, are really just an attempt at divisiveness.”

Meyer’s interim status will remain in effect until after a new CBA is negotiated. After that, the players will decide if they want to keep him on as executive director.

“I think the expectation is that we will get through bargaining with the current structure. At that point, it’s completely up to the players,” Meyer said. “If the players want to do a search, a wider search, if they want to have somebody from in-house … they’re going to have complete freedom to do that when we’re done with bargaining.”