PHOENIX — Bruce Meyer has not been on the job for more than 24 hours as the new president of the MLB Players Association, and he already knows he has enemies.
Some hope he never gets the job.
Some MLB executives hate dealing with him.
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Some agents believed he only supported Scott Boras and other powerful agents.
Some players thought he could be condescending.
Meyer realized he didn’t have the personality of his predecessor, Tony Clark. He hasn’t played in the major leagues in 15 years. He didn’t even pitch in the minors. He didn’t play ball in high school.
But man, can he sue? As long as he’s on the job, he vowed during a 30-minute interview Thursday to do everything possible to get the best deal for players in the next collective bargaining agreement while helping to repair the fractured relationship between agents and players.
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Meyer certainly wanted to clear up any misunderstandings that he provided Boras with preferential treatment and reiterated that Boras had no more influence over him than any other agent.
“I almost don’t want to glorify it,” Meyer said after speaking with the Milwaukee Brewers for 2 1/2 hours, “Scott is an agent. He represents a lot of players. He has no more influence on the union’s operations than any other agent. And the constant suggestions to the contrary – which I think are largely coming from the league – are really just an attempt at divisiveness.
“Every agent is valuable to us. Every agent represents our clients, our constituents. Every agent listens to us and we take it all very seriously.”
It’s no different than players, he said, trying to ensure middle-class and young players benefit as much as football’s richest players in the next collective bargaining agreement. Just two years ago, 21 players attempted a coup to fire Meyer and replace him with Harry Marino, an attorney who helped form the minor league players union and now oversees the well-being of 1,200 major leaguers.
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“You’re never going to get everyone to agree with everyone,” Meyer said. “That’s just not going to happen. … You’re never going to get everyone to agree, but you try your best.”
“The disagreements are not only expected, but they’re actually substantial. I mean, we’ve had a very free and honest exchange of views in the past on all subjects. That’s what these meetings are for. … We want and expect players to express their views, express their differences, talk things out, and we want to educate players.
“It would be unfortunate if we don’t agree 100 percent in the end, but that’s to be expected. It doesn’t mean we can’t achieve our goals.”
Meyer, 64, who was voted unanimously to succeed Clark by the union’s executive subcommittee and player representatives, said that while he is honored to be the union’s seventh executive director, he hates the situation. Clark was appointed Wednesday, about 48 hours after he was forced to resign after an internal investigation uncovered an inappropriate relationship with his sister-in-law, a union employee in the Scottsdale, Arizona, office.
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“I feel for Tony as do all of us,” Meyer said, “and I can’t say what anyone is celebrating at this moment. But I’ve represented players in all (sports) unions for almost exactly 40 years.” I have dedicated my career to protecting and promoting player rights. This is something I’ve always been passionate about…
“So if the players believe that I’m the best choice to help the union, that’s an honor and that’s what I’m going to devote all my time and attention to.”
Meyer’s appointment comes less than 10 months before the CBA expires; the lockout is expected to begin on Dec. 1 and the league is expected to seek a salary cap that the union strongly opposes. Meyer will once again serve as chief negotiator, but his responsibilities will now expand with Clark’s departure.
Meyer, who was hired by former MLB union president Don Fehr of the NHL Players Association, stepped out of trouble Wednesday night to attend the 2026 Playmakers Classic with his wife, Jacqueline, and received a warm welcome from players and officials at the event. His phone buzzed all night and into the morning with texts and calls from everyone: from middle school students to fellow attorneys to Major League Baseball vice president Dan Hallam.
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“(Hirum) was very friendly, very gracious, very classy. Despite occasional reports to the contrary, we had a great relationship and a professional relationship, and I appreciate that,” Meyer said.
Life is definitely getting busier for Meyer, and he still plans to play guitar to relieve stress, but his days of performing with band buddies may be over. Not only does he share many of Clark’s responsibilities with Matt Nussbaum, who was promoted to Meyer’s previous position, but he is now the new face of the union.
“My focus will continue to be on collective bargaining,” Meyer said. “I mean, our position on the bargaining side will not be affected.”
So in case anyone thought Meyer was going to be soft on negotiations and suddenly open to the salary cap, forget it.
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That doesn’t happen with Meyer in charge.
“We don’t believe in a system that’s basically a zero-sum game,” Meyer said, “which means, ‘If we pay you, we have to take money out of another player’s pocket.'” That’s how other (salary cap) systems work. …What happens is the people at the top get paid, and then everyone else gets the rest.
“The salary cap doesn’t help players at any level. … It doesn’t help mid-level players. They get hit the hardest in these systems. … Once you get into this system, the history is that over time it always gets worse and worse for players.
“There are ways we can make improvements for players at every level without going down the path that the union has been against for generations.”
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The union plans to once again resist any attempt by Major League Baseball to eliminate salary arbitration and replace it with a statistical system based solely on numbers. Of course, if the arbitration system was based on analytics, Detroit Tigers two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal wouldn’t have won his landmark $32 million arbitration case.
“Any attempt to eliminate it is certainly going to be negatively impacted, and that’s behind us,” Meyer said.
Meyer, who still has to meet with 27 other baseball teams over the next three weeks, will replace Clark in the World Baseball Classic and will focus on quickly developing relationships with players and agents, Clark’s strength.
“Tony has unparalleled relationships as a player and leader,” Meyer said. “Tony has a unique skill set. We’re definitely going to miss some of that.
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“But I think we’re in a really good spot and we’re doing everything we can to make sure the players are in a really good spot.”
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This article originally appeared in USA TODAY: New MLBPA Chairman Bruce Meyer talks new role, goals
