House That Hank Built
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Atlanta Braves GM’s interview sparks instant overreaction from MLBPA

By Fred Owens

The an innocent statement by Atlanta Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos caused MLBPA Executive Director Tony Clark, (second from left) to start and immediate investigation. No on elese seems to consider the statement important, but clark is looking for any reason to confront MLB Owners. The friendly atmosphere between Clark and Commissioner Robert Manfred (third from the left) isn't going to last long.Also shown are John Franco and Marquis Grissom on Manfred left, Ken Griffey Jr.on his right Clark, Curtis Granderson of the New York Mets, and Andrew McCutchen of the Pittsburgh Pirates at a photo after a press conference on youth initiatives hosted by Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association at Citi Field in 2016. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
The an innocent statement by Atlanta Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos caused MLBPA Executive Director Tony Clark, (second from left) to start and immediate investigation. No on elese seems to consider the statement important, but clark is looking for any reason to confront MLB Owners. The friendly atmosphere between Clark and Commissioner Robert Manfred (third from the left) isn't going to last long.Also shown are John Franco and Marquis Grissom on Manfred left, Ken Griffey Jr.on his right Clark, Curtis Granderson of the New York Mets, and Andrew McCutchen of the Pittsburgh Pirates at a photo after a press conference on youth initiatives hosted by Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association at Citi Field in 2016. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /
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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 11: WWE Executive Vice President of Talent, Live Events and Creative Paul “Triple H” Levesque (C) gets between WWE wrestler Braun Strowman (L) and heavyweight boxer Tyson Fury (R) as they face off at a WWE news conference at T-Mobile Arena on October 11, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada.  (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 11: WWE Executive Vice President of Talent, Live Events and Creative Paul “Triple H” Levesque (C) gets between WWE wrestler Braun Strowman (L) and heavyweight boxer Tyson Fury (R) as they face off at a WWE news conference at T-Mobile Arena on October 11, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada.  (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

MLBPA – MLB deathmatch preview?

The Atlanta Braves got caught up in the bubbling battle between the union and the owners.  The MLBPA Union (Clark) is spoiling for a fight.

After the last Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) became official, Tony Clark realized he’d outmaneuvered by Commissioner Ron Manfred and the MLB negotiators.  Players were unhappy, and the Commissioner made it worse by flexing his newly won rights openly.

Manfred backed off, but over time let it be known that he’d use those power if he needed to in order to get the result he wanted.

In September 2018, Clark started circling the wagons for 2021 by added reinforcements in the form of a new negotiating team.

Bruce Meyer is a superstar negotiator.

"Mr. Meyer has extensive jury trial experience, having tried lengthy and complex cases to juries in locales across the country, including New York, Pittsburgh, Minneapolis, Western Massachusetts, Boston, and Texas. . . struck down the NFL’s free agency restrictions after a three-month antitrust jury trial . . . prevailed in a complex six week reinsurance arbitration for Life Re; achieved a complete defense verdict for Procter & Gamble after a three-week jury trial; and achieved a complete defense verdict in a $70 million preference action against Prudential . . . won bench trials for eBay and XM Satellite Radio, and prevailed in arbitrations for Rolls Royce and for PAI Partners, a leading French private equity firm."

Last winter’s slow-paced free-agent signings, that left star veteran unemployed and others taking reduced deals, caused more dissent in the union ranks and Clark’s chair started to get warm.

Dayn Perry writing for CBS say there are issues on both sides.

". . .there are seven main reasons that the free agent market seems to be depressed. . . Most of it is on owners who don’t seem to care about winning . . .  Some of it, however, is also on the players and the MLBPA, who failed to anticipate these trends while bargaining for the current collective bargaining agreement. Verlander hit on a couple of the reasons, and his frustration is telling. If the guys who have already hit their big paydays are frustrated, what does that say about the players who haven’t?"

The added emphasis is mine; Perry said the owners are greedy and don’t want to spend, but the MLBPA (Clark) should have taken care of that in the CBA Negotiation.

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