Cubs react to Tony Clark resigning as MLBPA executive director: 'The strength of the union is in the players'

MESA, Ariz. – As the details continue to roll out about Tony Clark’s resignation as the executive director MLB Players Association on Tuesday, the consensus was, the timing wasn’t ideal.

The current Collective Bargaining agreement between the players and MLB is set to expire in less than 10 months. And tensions between the sides have already begun to mount, with the league floating the idea of a salary cap and the MLBPA doubling down on its longheld opposition to the concept.

“I don't know that it's ideal,” said Cubs outfielder Ian Happ, a former MLBPA executive subcommittee member who remains involved with the competition committee. “But I would say that for the most part, the strength of the union is in the players. And the players, ultimately, are the ones that dictate the direction that any negotiation or any talk is going to go. And so that doesn't change.”

It was, however, a stunning upheaval of union leadership at a pivotal time. Clark has headed the MLBPA since 2013. But recently, he has been under federal investigation for an alleged misuse of funds, which he has denied.

“I actually really think we’ve done a good job of beefing up the entire organization,” former Pirates and Yankees player rep Jameson Taillon said, mentioning the legal department and player involvement. “So obviously this is not ideal, but we've got a lot of great people, a lot of smart guys, a lot of very involved players. And hopefully this kind of wakes up players to understand what's going on and why this is a big year and why this matters.”

Angels pitcher Brent Suter, a member of the MLBPA executive subcommittee, told reporters Tuesday morning that the union would name an interim executive director “and keep everything as stable as we can here.”

“I think there is plenty of time,” Happ said of choosing Clark’s replacement. “I think these things don't happen, unfortunately, until the last second. There's parts of the collective bargaining agreement that will be negotiated and are relatively easy to do the paperwork on in the next 10 months, but there are definitely parts that take time.”

Happ and his generation of player leadership know that well. They navigated contentious negotiations and a 99-day lockout, to finally ratify the current CBA on March 10, 2022.

“This group of players, we've been through a lot," Happ said. "We've seen a ton. We've been through a lockout, we've been through 2020. And I think that keeps the players very informed and very aware. And so having gone through those experiences I think will only help us in this one.”

Though some in the industry have accepted another lockout as all but inevitable again this winter, Happ said he was optimistic that another work stoppage could be avoided.

“I think the game's in a great place,” he said. “The rules changes have worked. The pace is fantastic, viewership, attendance, all those things are in a great place. It's a beautiful game, and you can see that the reception has been really strong from fans in the last few years. And so I really hope that we can continue playing baseball and avoid anything that would take the game away from the fans.”