It appears that a war is brewing within the Major League Baseball Players Association, and there is a possibility that the players association may split.
Player leaders at the minor league and major league levels are calling for Bruce Meyer to be fired and replaced by former MLBPA attorney Harry Marino. According to a shocking report from The Athletic.
Pressure on executive director Tony Clark increased further during Monday night’s phone call, which reportedly was “long and at times heated” and involved representatives from numerous players from the majors and minors. It is said that people participated.
An informal vote was taken on the call, but no action was taken, the statement said. The report also said Clark organized the call after a text chain was circulated among player representatives questioning Meyer’s leadership.
The complaints appear to be related to concerns about the apparent influence that super-agent Scott Boris wields within the association, a claim that other agents have long made but which Boris and MLBPA leadership deny. did.
Apparently dissatisfied with the direction of the players’ union, other players wanted more resources to be put into the players’ union’s negotiating team.
The introduction of low-spending free agents by most teams this offseason hasn’t helped matters, either, with players still struggling, especially those outside of the top tier.
Meyer and Marino’s relationship was not good, with the former accusing the latter of coming to work during a phone call Monday night.
According to a reporter from The Athletic, Meyer was the only one who answered the phone.
The frosty relationship between the two dates back to when they were working on a minor league collective bargaining agreement last year.
Marino and Meyer butted heads during minor league negotiations.
Before joining the MLBPA, Marino led the nonprofit organization Advocates for Minor Leaguers, but left the association last year after helping minor league players earn CBA.
Meyer joined the MLBPA in 2018 prior to negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement with Major League Baseball for the 2021-22 season.
