One day after Tony Clark’s surprise resignation amid a reported inappropriate relationship with his sister-in-law, the Major League Baseball Players Association elected Bruce Meyer as its executive director, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
The vote was reportedly unanimous. Rather than serve as an interim head of the union, Meyer will take over as its sixth executive director after previously serving as deputy executive director and Clark’s No. 2.
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According to Passan, Clark resigned on the heels of an internal investigation, which revealed an inappropriate relationship with his sister-in-law, who worked for the union beginning in 2023. The union held an emergency meeting Tuesday afternoon, but did not vote on an executive director until Wednesday.
Clark, 53, and the MLBPA were expected to start touring spring training facilities Tuesday. Their first stop — at Cleveland Guardians camp — was reportedly canceled, per The Athletic.
The news comes just months before the current CBA is set to expire on Dec. 1. The union and MLB owners are expected to engage in a furious labor battle ahead of the new CBA, which many expect could lead to a lockout ahead of the 2027 MLB season. There is speculation the owners will push hard for a salary cap, something the players have opposed for years.
Clark played a major role in helping negotiate previous CBAs for the players. He reportedly took an active part in negotiations as a player before being hired by the MLBPA in 2010. He was initially a director of player relations before being hired as the union’s executive director in 2013. He oversaw negotiations ahead of the 2016 CBA and the contentious 2022 lockout, which resulted in Opening Day being postponed by a week as negotiations extended into March.
