BRADENTON, Fla. -- Tony Clark's a big man, "bigger than I need to be," he joked with me Thursday morning as he leaned against a table inside the media room at the Pirates' LECOM Park.
He's also taking on a big challenge.
And you'd better believe it's bigger than it needs to be.
Because regardless of the merits of the Major League Baseball Players Association's grievance filed earlier this week against the Pirates and three other teams, charging them with not spending their annual revenue-sharing checks toward ... you know, winning games ... Clark, the former Detroit slugger and now the union's executive director, wouldn't have had to take a swing at anyone had Bob Nutting, Frank Coonelly and Neal Huntington been fully invested in ... you know, winning games.
But they aren't. So this very important man, making his annual tour to speak with all 30 teams' players during spring training, used this stop to speak -- publicly, powerfully -- on a subject that should have embarrassed any team anywhere to the extreme.
When I asked Clark, who'd shared some of the Boston players' sentiments from their meeting a week ago, if he could share with me some of the Pirates' sentiments, the hits started coming at a Rod Carew pace.
“I’ll offer to you that the guys are engaged," Clark began. "Whether you're a Red Sox team or a Pittsburgh team, you see guys you played with and against leaving your team or not being signed. It’s cause for concern."
Oh, my. He opened with a clear reference to the double-dumpings of Andrew McCutchen and Gerrit Cole.
Wait.
"Players, no matter what team you are on, no matter where the guys come from, are looking to be on the last team standing," Clark continued. "So when it looks like something is not right in regard to them playing against the best players and/or playing with the best ... players recognize the value that a talented, experienced player can bring to a club that is looking to be the last team standing."
Wait. Seriously.
"And if you're a fan, you want to know that your club is committed to that, as well. When it appears that’s not the case, that’s a concern for players. That’s a concern for fans. And it should be a concern for the industry as a whole where we’re having conversations and dialogue that question the competitive integrity of what the fans are paying to see.”
OK, yeah. That.
It was amusing after the fact that both Clark and the union's P.R. man had advised reporters here that Clark wouldn't address the grievance -- he didn't, actually, in the context of what the union could do if it wins the case -- being that he spoke beautifully to basically everything about it in the 15 minutes that followed. At least in his own calm, calculated way.
Check out, for example, the thought he put into this response when I asked why Pittsburgh fans, accustomed to seeing the Penguins and Steelers compete for championships, shouldn't hope for a salary cap in baseball when Clark, through this grievance, is essentially going after the Pirates, Rays, Athletics and Marlins over a salary floor:
"No, we’re not essentially going after a salary floor by going after these four teams," Clark repeated back to me. "We’re simply suggesting that there is value in a CBA that’s grounded in the fundamentals tied to competition and competitive integrity on the field. The entire CBA has been negotiated with the assumption that all 30 teams are going to look to compete. We’ve always appreciated, while also acknowledging the cyclical nature of some of the teams themselves, that there may be a team or a couple or even three, perhaps, that are moving themselves through a particular cycle. But to the extent that we see what we think are upwards of a third of the league, some of which have voiced their interest -- or lack thereof -- publicly in regards to the value of winning … or the value of competing day in and day out … that’s where our concern comes from."
He then returned to my floor stance.
"So, when you talk about a floor, we’re not talking about a floor. We acknowledge that there are different teams in different places. But what we are acknowledging is that there are provisions in the CBA focused and committed on providing support to teams such that they’re able to compete year in and year out. And such that — what’s that phrase you always hear this time of year? — that hope springs eternal for everyone."
He smiled.
As well as Clark handled that question, one that didn't exactly skew in his favor, he was even better when I followed up by asking how he poked the Pirates and these other three teams when all concerned have seen the Cubs and Astros take the same approach and wind up winning the World Series.
The highlight: "There are teams that tear down in order to put themselves in that conversation. That's a little different than a team that may be struggling along. In other words, we're happy to see Milwaukee functioning in the fashion that they are."
I'd brought up the Brewers, too, and not just because they're based in a market two-thirds the size of Pittsburgh. Mark Attanasio, their owner had dropped payroll for 2017 to $65 million. But some shrewd baseball moves were made, the money's flowed right back, and they're now seen as a bona fide contender in the Central, even against the Cubs.
"They recognize the opportunity that presents itself," Clark continued on the Brewers. "They're taking advantage of the dynamics that exist in the CBA to further advance their goal of winning, of being the last team standing. But to point back to the Cubs or to Houston as the template ... they weren't tearing down rosters to jumpstart the proverbial engine. They simply went through some difficult times. They made some good draft picks, some trades, brought in some free agents to complement who was already there."
He paused.
"I have an understanding and appreciation for that, but it's not what folks are pointing to."
I can see what he's saying. The front offices in Chicago and Houston unquestionably did tear down, but their hand was forced by a whole lot of prior bad baseball decisions.
I can see what Clark's saying and doing overall, as well. He came across as genuinely exasperated that he's been forced to fight through a Collective Bargaining Agreement that's, as he put it, "18 months old with four years to go." And by that, I'm not referring to this grievance, which is more of a side issue, but the massive collusion that appears to be occurring -- hey, sometimes appearances are enough to count -- regarding the dozens of free agents still sitting idle.
None of it needs to be happening. Not anywhere. Not with MLB as an entity having grown revenues 15 years in a row and, in 2017, having exceeded $10 billion-with-a-B for the first time. Not with the average franchise value now being estimated by Forbes at $1.54 billion-with-a-B, a 17 percent increase from the previous year. Certainly not with each owner receiving a $50 million check this spring from the sale of advanced media tech to Disney.
Baseball's never been healthier financially and, regardless of what one thinks of some of the salaries paid out in a real-world context, the players are the attraction. They're what turns the turnstiles, what tunes in the viewers.
Look at it this way: Russell Crowe averages $18 million a year as an actor. Sounds like a lot. But his movies, over the course of his career, have brought $2,346,638,000 at the box office. That's billion-with-a-B.
But even with this not-spending stuff spreading, the Pirates still somehow stand out. They're still somehow the worst offender. They're the ones who sent out their best position player and best pitcher for six prospects, none of whom rank among the sport's top 100. They're the ones who've slashed payroll by $20 million in the same year the owner will cash that $50 million check. They're the ones who, even in the context of a ton of teams ignoring free agents, have spent zero dollars on one this offseason.
That's zero-with-a-Z.
The Pirates' players were mostly mum on both the meeting and the matter in general. One veteran explained to me, "There's nothing we can do about this. All we can do is stick together." Jameson Taillon, who'd just been named the new union rep at the meeting to replace Cole, would only offer, "I wouldn't say there was too much about the grievance. We talked about a lot of things." That was typical.
Even Josh Harrison, by far the most outspoken player this offseason, didn't really pipe up:
As Clark was packing up, I couldn't help but ask about what I've always felt to be strike three against this front office, that being their indefensible failure to add following the 98-win 2015 season.
It was informal, so I won't print his reply. But maybe it wouldn't have been printable anyway.
