BRADENTON, Fla. – Tony Clark gave detailed and thoughtful answers to most questions. That is the norm for the Major League Baseball Players Association’s executive director.
However, when it came to specific inquiries about the Pirates on Tuesday morning, Clark was rather tight-lipped when he met with reporters following his annual visit to spring training.
When I asked what he thought of the Pirates cutting their payroll from $89 million at the end of last season to an estimated $73 million to begin this season, he answered briefly and generally.
“In an industry that’s growing, seeing upwards of two-thirds of the payrolls being lower than what they were last year is a concern,” Clark responded.
Clark also gave no details on the grievance the MLBPA filed against the Pirates, Marlins, Athletics and Rays 13 months ago. The association alleged the four teams violated the basic agreement because they were not properly spending their revenue-sharing money to improve their major-league clubs.
Clark said the grievance is “ongoing” and no date has been set for an arbitration hearing.
Meanwhile, Clark addressed big-picture issues surrounding the business of baseball:
What the players are talking about as he tours camps this spring?
“It’s been consistent across the board. Guys are engaged, whether you’re a young player, whether you’re a player who’s viewed as being in the middle of his career or whether you’re a veteran player. The engagement, the support for one another, the support for guys in other locker rooms that they may not be seeing on a consistent basis, has been a theme across each of the clubhouses and each of the meetings.
“The questions have been across the board, not any one particular thing, and even with our international group, our Spanish-speaking group, guys are concerned about the game, where it’s at and where it’s going."
What issues are being emphasized?
“One thing that you have heard me say, that you have heard concerns voiced from players, has to do with creating an atmosphere of competition across the board, that having an industry that has the best players on the field, whether you are a young player, whether you are a more veteran player, across the board, and having a level of competition that’s reflective of the best talent being on the field at all times is what we should be striving for.
“Sitting here on March 19 and being a week and a half away from opening day, excluding what’s going on in Japan right now (the Mariners and Athletics play a two-game regular-season series beginning Wednesday in Tokyo), it’s unfortunate across multiple levels that our industry can’t say that, considering the players that are still sitting at home without jobs.”
What can be done to make more teams competitive?
“We look forward to having a conversation about those moving pieces, because there are a number of them. We’ve understood – we’ve always understood – that there has been a team or two or three that re-cycles. What we’ve seen goes much deeper and broader than that and therefore offers a concern to us that we believe needs to be addressed sooner rather than later, and it’s not sustainable for the industry to continue to function in that fashion. A number of moving pieces there, no simple answers, but we look forward to having that dialogue with the league.”
What does it mean that the MLBPA and MLB have sat down to talk about rule changes?
“I can’t speak for the other side, but we believe the challenges that exist in our industry go well beyond a pitch clock or mound visits. As a result, having an opportunity to talk about those more broadly is something that we’re interested in. We’ll see how that dialogue goes, but unless or until we sit down at the table and have a conversation about them, nothing’s going to change. So, we look forward to that dialogue.”
Why has attendance been down around baseball, including a 450,000 drop for the Pirates last year?
By the nature of us not agreeing to a pitch clock, I’d suggest to you we believe there is more there than the pace of game issues. Appreciate too, you will not find a player who is interested in playing 3 1/2-hour or four-hour games. They’ll continue to do their part to keep things moving along. We think the attendance issues have less to do with three hours versus 3:05 and more to do with some underlying, far more fundamental issues."
What are the MLBPA’s concerns about two sluggish free-agent cycles and teams manipulating young players’ service time?
“Both of them are concerns. Both are issues that, whether you’re a young guy or whether you’re a veteran player or whether you’re are in the middle … they’re concerns that are in the forefront of the conversation that we would like to get to the back of the conversation.
“Service time manipulation is something that has been there for some time. If you’ve earned the opportunity to be on the field, the best players should be on the field, whether you are a young player or a more senior player. The free-agent market functioning the way it’s functioned for the second year in a row, suggests that it’s not an aberration, it’s more the norm, and we believe that is unacceptable as well.”
Are younger players becoming more involved with the MLBPA?
“It’s no matter where you are on the service time spectrum, something is either affecting you directly or perhaps is going to affect you shortly, or is affecting somebody that you know who might have gone through a particular experience in the past few years, or even a more senior player. We’ve got young guys who are involved. We have young guys asking questions in the room. I point to it being an appreciation of whether you are young or senior, what we’re seeing right now is concerns our players have about the game in general.
"Our guys, from time they’re knee-high to a table, this is what they do. The love, passion and commitment they have to our game is what they’ve dedicated themselves to. And they’re seeing things happen on the field and off the field that have them asking a lot of questions and wanting to protect where our game is going next.”
Why do you think of the Blue Jays raising minor-league players’ salaries by more than 50 percent and other teams – including the Pirates – also considering boosting the wage scale?
“Everyone in a major-league locker room has gone through the minor leagues. Every discussion is personal to the players because very, very few make the jump straight to the major leagues. It’s good to see consideration being made for the minor-league players. It’s interesting to hear it being discussed among other team owners beyond the Blue Jays. We’ll have to see how it plays out. It’s a good initial step.”
Is it difficult to see such standout pitchers as Dallas Keuchel and Craig Kimbrel still unsigned?
“It is frustrating and it’s disheartening, too. As a fan, you know that those players are sitting at home and can help my team win. Why have we not perhaps engaged them and determine if there is opportunity to see if they can help us? It is best for the entire industry to make sure our best players are on the field, have jobs, are in stadiums, in ballparks, so the fans can appreciate what we’ve appreciated throughout history, which is coming to the ballpark and seeing the best players.”
