An already strained labor-management dynamic in Major League Baseball was thrown into further chaos Tuesday morning. MLB Players Association executive director Tony Clark is expected to resign from his post according to The Athletic and ESPN. Clark, who has served as executive director since 2013, will depart before the final season of the current collective bargaining agreement.
This news comes at a delicate time for the players’ union, even beyond that expiring CBA. In October, ESPN reported that federal
investigators were looking into into the union’s relationship with a company called Players Way—a company which the union has allegedly paid millions of dollars despite not serving any clear function. A complaint from an anonymous whistleblower alleged that Clark misused union resources and abused his power in his position atop the organization.
Evidently, the general public were not the only ones caught off-guard by the sudden announcement:
Clark, 53, played in MLB for 15 seasons, including with the Yankees in 2004. He became the first former player in the history of the MLBPA to become executive director when he accepted the post following the death of attorney Michael Weiner in December 2013. Clark had received a five-year extension following the 2022 season, after negotiating with the league during the previous offseason’s lockout alongside the more experience litigator, deputy executive Bruce Meyer. The MLBPA also successfully added minor league players to their organization during his tenure.
The Players Assocation will seek a new leader in a pivotal final season before the CBA expires — though they don’t know when a possible interim would step in just yet.
Tension between the union and the league has only escalated throughout the winter, as owners have increased their public calls for a salary cap and players remain unified in their opposition (just to name one well-known public issue). The union will now seek a new executive to work with Meyer the players’ top negotiator in what’s expected to be a contentious labor dispute that could very well wind up affecting the 2027 MLB schedule.
