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Do Harry Marino and his followers have enough votes to oust Tony Clark as head of the Major League Baseball Players Association? The confrontation between Marino and union leaders Clark and his number two, Bruce Meyer, could depend on that response, according to interviews with people briefed on the situation. Some club player representatives are already said to be conducting informal polls within their clubs about Clark’s future, two people briefed on the vote said Wednesday night.
As a storm continues to burn behind the scenes two days after news broke that a mutiny was brewing within the union, both sides are campaigning hard, talking to players and agents on the phone all day, trying to get support for their respective causes.
A group of players and agents who want new direction in the union asked Clark Monday night to fire Meyer; the third time that request was made recently, said a person briefed on the discussions. His complaints are not just related to collective bargaining, but to the way the union is run in general, from concerns about a lack of communication to poor vision and questionable budgets. Some players are calling for an audit of union spending.
Within the MLBPA, Marino’s effort is seen as a coup by a power-hungry young lawyer and disgruntled agents backing him. There is no indication that Clark will remove Meyer, at least not based on what has happened so far. But the CEO also typically controls the hiring and firing of staff. Normally, a vote would not be the means to hire or fire someone of Meyer’s level. That’s in Clark’s purview.
So ultimately, if Clark doesn’t make the personnel change that some players want, the issue could come down to whether those players have enough votes to oust Clark. If that happened, Marino himself, at 33 years old, could take over.
Late Wednesday, Marino said in a statement that he was not actively pursuing Clark’s job.
“To set the record straight, I have never campaigned for Tony Clark’s seat,” Marino said. “In fact, I made it clear to Tony about my desire to work with him just two days ago.
“While the narrative of a palace coup or a heated political campaign will grab the headlines, the truth of what happened last week is much less sexy: Major League players found and used their voice to oust a chief negotiator who didn’t. they wanted and to demand an audit of how their hard-earned dues money is being spent,” Marino continued.
“When all is said and done, both major and minor league players will have a union that looks more like the MLBPA they really want than the MLBPA they had when the players recruited me to help them with this process.” “, said.
A vote among the 72-member executive board is believed to be enough to remove a CEO. The group is made up of 38 major leaguers and 34 minor leaguers. However, choosing a new chief could require a vote by all members; that’s how Clark was elected in 2013. Total membership has grown by more than 5,000 players since then, following the unionization of minor league players by the MLBPA. Marino led the minor league player organization and built strong relationships throughout the group.
However, the ball appears to be effectively in Marino’s court. No proactive steps appear to be necessary at this time for Clark and Meyer to remain in their roles, technically, even if it would be politically difficult for one or both of them to move forward. But a proactive step is required for Marino and his supporters to achieve change: a formal vote on Clark.
Marino’s campaign focuses on grassroots players, rather than top players who make a lot of money, like Scott Boras’ clients. However, it’s still unclear what Marino would change about baseball’s economic system. MLB owners have long touted a salary cap as a way to redistribute pay to players, but players have long opposed a salary cap, believing it hurts their overall long-term financial situation.
Regardless of the outcome, the chaos in and around the union has been detrimental to the overall strength of the players, at least for now. Only two years remain before the union, and whoever leads it, negotiates the next collective bargaining agreement with MLB’s highly capable labor relations department, before a presumed lockout that would begin in December 2026.
(Clark Photo: José Luis Magaña/Associated Press)