Latest news with #TonyClark
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Manfred's High-Risk Gamble: Bypassing MLB Union for Direct Player Talks
Dive into MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred's bold strategy of communicating directly with players, sidestepping union leaders like Tony Clark, as the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) heads toward expiration on December 1, 2026. This high-risk, high-reward approach aims to sway rank-and-file players on key issues, potentially including a salary cap, echoing the 2021 deal where players overruled executives. Explore the potential threats to union unity, personality clashes between leaders, and how this could reshape baseball's labor landscape—leading to a lockout or revolutionary changes? If you're into MLB drama, sports labor negotiations, or behind-the-scenes strategy, this clip breaks it all down!
New York Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Should MLB's automated ball-strike system have a built-in buffer zone?
ATLANTA — Major League Baseball Players Association executive director Tony Clark wondered Tuesday whether the automated ball-strike system would do well to provide a little grace, a half-inch or so, so that the system isn't used to overturn calls that are wrong by a razor-thin margin. 'Does there need to be some type of buffer-zone consideration?' Clark asked. 'We haven't even started talking about the strike zone itself, how that's going to necessarily be measured.' Advertisement Commissioner Rob Manfred, however, does not wonder the same thing. 'I don't believe that technology supports the notion that you need a buffer zone,' Manfred said. 'To get into the idea that there's something that is not a strike that you're going to call a strike in a review system — I don't know why I would want to do that.' Manfred has the power to implement ABS at the major-league level for the 2026 season, and is expected to do so. The change would grant teams two challenges per game on the human umpires' ball or strike calls. The umpire would then defer to technology MLB has tested for several years in the minor leagues. The ABS system was on display Tuesday in baseball's All-Star Game, marking its first use by major leaguers outside of spring training. The All-Stars used four challenges, with three of them resulting in overturned calls — some by the kind of extremely thin margins Clark referenced before the game. Formally, the process to implement the system in the big leagues runs through an 11-person competition committee that includes league representatives, player representatives an umpire. But MLB has enough votes to push it through, a set-up players and owners agreed to during collective bargaining. Manfred has said he's going to indeed propose ABS to the committee. 'I would like to believe that at some point in time, when it's represented to the committee and in front of players, and players offer input, that it's actually listened to,' Clark said. 'I still remain hopeful that that may be the case. But our guys do have a concern with that half-inch, what that might otherwise lead to.' If teams think they can get the closest of calls overturned, they might be more likely to roll the dice on a challenge if they have one late in games. 'There's a lot of discussion that still needs to be had, despite the fact that (implementation) seems more inevitable than not,' Clark said. Advertisement Buffer zones have already been a controversial topic this year. The Athletic reported in May that MLB and the umpires' union agreed in the offseason to reduce the size of the buffer zone that's used in the league's umpire performance reviews. (LINK: ) Manfred said it's too soon to know whether he wants to further cut the number of Minor League Baseball teams carried as official affiliates. When MLB overhauled the sport's minor-league system before the 2021 season, the commissioner's office controversially reduced the number of teams from 160 to 120. The ones that remained in the umbrella also entered into a new type of business relationship with MLB, one where they operate more as franchisees. Each minor-league team is on a 10-year contract with MLB through 2030. The conclusion of this season will mark the halfway point of those contracts. However, even when the new system was put in place, some minor-league owners were fearful that the reduction of 40 teams was a starting point, and that more cuts could follow. 'We're years away from that conversation,' Manfred said. 'I just don't know how to answer that question. There is a lot going on. You know, college baseball is changing big time. I mean, so it's just impossible for me to speculate. But don't take that as 'He thinks it's going to be smaller or bigger.' I just don't know. It's 120 right now.' An added wrinkle is the unionization of minor leaguers. Their first-ever collective bargaining agreement, which runs from 2023-27, forbids MLB from contraction during the term of the CBA. But the bigger question will be what the following CBA calls for regarding contraction. Manfred has publicly said he expects to retire in 2029. If that's the case, at least some of the decision-making on minor-league licensees could fall to his successor. Advertisement Earlier this year, ESPN opted out of the final three years of its national TV deal with MLB, from 2026-28. That's left MLB trying to find a new arrangement, or multiple arrangements, on a short-term deal. Manfred said last month he was hoping he'd have something in place by Tuesday's All-Star Game, but he didn't hit that target date. Last week, however, he attended Allen & Company's Sun Valley Conference, where many media executives were also on hand. 'I had a lot of conversations that moved us significantly closer to a deal,' Manfred said. 'And I don't believe it's going to be long, but I'm not going to give you another date, since I already missed one.' The Athletic's Andrew Marchand previously reported that talks with ESPN have reopened after months of chilliness. ESPN's expiring rights include Sunday Night Baseball, the Home Run Derby and some early playoff games. (Photo of action during this week's All-Star Game: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)
Japan Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Japan Times
Tony Clark blasts MLB salary cap idea as 'collusion' during All-Star break
Tony Clark, the executive director of the MLB Players Association, doubled down on his opposition to a salary cap on Tuesday, saying during All-Star festivities in Atlanta that such a change to the game's economic structure would move the game "backward." Both Clark and Commissioner Rob Manfred addressed several topics with members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America before Tuesday's All-Star Game. Manfred is reportedly pushing for a salary cap in the next collective bargaining agreement, calling for more competitive balance around the league. Clark and the players' union, meanwhile, remain vehemently against it. "(The owners) obviously have their interests, and those interests aren't much different from the interests they've had for the last three, four, five decades at this point," Clark said, according to Sports Business Journal. "Whereas the game is in a great place — the game appears to be growing and moving in the right direction, with more attendance that we've had in a long time — and more people are watching and streaming the games than we've ever had before. "You would think there would be an opportunity to talk about how to build rather than how to go backward. What the interests are that they have is taking the game backward." Clark even went as far to say that the concept of a salary cap could be considered "institutional collusion." "A cap is not about a partnership. A cap is not about growing the game," Clark said on Tuesday. "That's not what a cap is about. As has been offered publicly, a cap is about franchise values and profits. That's what a cap is about. If there are ways that we need to improve the existing system to polish some of the rough edges that otherwise exist, we have made proposals to do that. We will continue to make proposals to do that, and believe that that's the best way to go." The current MLB collective bargaining agreement is set to expire on Dec. 1, 2026. If the owners and the players' union can't come to an agreement, a lockout could potentially delay the 2027 season.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
There Are Growing Calls For MLB To Have Salary Cap
There Are Growing Calls For MLB To Have Salary Cap originally appeared on The Spun. There are growing calls for Major League Baseball to have a salary cap. Major League Baseball is the only of the four major U.S. sports leagues to not have a salary cap. The NFL, NBA and NHL all enforce a salary cap - and a salary floor. Advertisement While MLB has several teams that spend a lot of money - the Dodgers, Mets, Yankees - there are also several that spend very little. A salary floor would raise the level of spending for teams across the league, but would a salary cap lower spending for the top teams? It's possible. Los Angeles, CA - October 25: Freddie Freeman (5) of the Los Angeles Dodgers hits a walk off grand slam in the tenth inning to defeat the New York Yankees 6-3 and win Game 1 of a World Series baseball game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Friday, October 25, 2024. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images)MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News viaDespite that, there are growing calls for Major League Baseball to have a salary cap. But Tony Clark, the head of the Major League Baseball Players Association, does not want one. 'They [MLB] obviously have their interests, and those interests aren't much different from the interests they've had for the last three, four, five decades at this point,' Clark said on Monday at the MLB All-Star Home Run Derby in Atlanta. 'Whereas the game is in a great place; the game appears to be growing and moving in the right direction, with more attendance than we've had in a long time; and more people are watching and streaming the games than we've ever had before.' Advertisement Clark believes that a salary cap would set the game "backwards." Meanwhile, 10 percent of the game's players make 72 percent of the money. You would think that would make the rest of the league call for a salary cap, though we'll see what happens. There Are Growing Calls For MLB To Have Salary Cap first appeared on The Spun on Jul 15, 2025 This story was originally reported by The Spun on Jul 15, 2025, where it first appeared.
The Sun
6 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
Tony Clark slams MLB salary cap as ‘collusion' amid All-Star break
MLB Players Association executive director Tony Clark has strongly rejected the idea of implementing a salary cap in Major League Baseball, labelling it as 'institutional collusion' during All-Star Game discussions. Clark and MLB commissioner Rob Manfred addressed key issues with the Baseball Writers' Association of America ahead of Tuesday's All-Star Game, where Manfred reportedly advocated for a salary cap in the next collective bargaining agreement to enhance competitive balance. Clark dismissed the proposal, arguing that it would harm the sport's growth. 'The game is in a great place, with rising attendance and more viewers than ever,' Clark said, according to Sports Business Journal. 'Instead of moving backward, we should focus on building the game further.' He emphasised that a salary cap prioritises franchise profits over partnership and growth. 'A cap is not about growing the game,' Clark stated. 'It's about franchise values and profits. If adjustments are needed, we've proposed solutions, and we'll keep working on them.' The current MLB collective bargaining agreement expires on Dec. 1, 2026. Failure to reach a new deal could lead to a lockout, potentially disrupting the 2027 season. - Reuters
