LAKELAND, Fla. — Tony Clark is stepping down as executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association following an internal investigation that discovered he had an inappropriate relationship with his sister-in-law, who was hired to work for the union in 2023, ESPN and The Athletic reported Tuesday.
Clark, 53, has led the powerful union for 13 years. He played 15 seasons in the major leagues, including a stint with the Detroit Tigers from 1995-2001.
Clark has reportedly been under federal investigation since last summer for alleged financial improprieties, though the allegation involving his sister-in-law was not reported until Tuesday.
The resignation came abruptly. Clark had been scheduled to begin a tour of spring training sites on Tuesday morning, but his meeting with the Cleveland Guardians was canceled.
Clark’s departure comes just nine months before the current collective bargaining agreement expires. Many around the sport expect contentious negotiations, particularly as several owners have pushed for a salary cap, which the union strongly opposes.
Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, a member of the MLBPA’s eight-member executive subcommittee, said players were still gathering information Tuesday morning.
“It’s tough,” Skubal said. “Obviously, I haven’t really seen everything that’s come out. I know we have a call this afternoon, and we’ll get more information on it and how to communicate it to the rest of our team.
“It doesn’t change the state of the union. I think we’re still as strong as ever. The union’s always been about the players, and it’s up to us to accomplish what we want to accomplish.”
Union chief negotiator Bruce Meyer is widely viewed as the leading candidate to replace Clark, particularly with negotiations looming. Meyer is a veteran sports and labor lawyer, though unlike Clark he does not have a background as a player.
Skubal said he does not believe the leadership change will alter the union’s bargaining posture.
“I don’t think it has any impact on negotiating,” Skubal said. “Bruce has been our lead negotiator, and he’s done it in the past. Although Tony’s kind of been the face of the PA in terms of negotiating, I’m still as confident as ever in Bruce and everyone else that we got behind him. I think there’s a lot of strong people in the PA and very valuable people that are going to work for us and try to accomplish what we want to accomplish when it comes to bargaining time.”
In addition to being the game’s best pitcher, Skubal is also an important player in union politics. He and his agent, Scott Boras, recently engineered a massive victory in a precedent-setting arbitration case while working closely with the union. Skubal is also set to be a free agent after this season and could be in line to receive the biggest contract for a pitcher in MLB history.