MLB Union Chief on Alert As NBA Gambling Scandal Unfolds

TORONTO — MLB Players Association executive director Tony Clark is an entirely different sport from the unfolding NBA gambling scandal, and currently, he’s on the other side of the U.S.-Canada border. But the developing situation that has produced multiple federal indictments now has the union on high alert.

Speaking before Game 1 of the World Series Friday night at Rogers Centre, Clark said the NBA scandal raises safety concerns within baseball, amplifying worries the union has held in this area since the Supreme Court opened up a broader legalization of sports betting in 2018. 

“It’s just a different world,” Clark said. “Every time something happens, our concerns become greater and everyone on some level recognizes that the world is going to be different. … Every time there’s a situation that arises related to gambling, the concern doesn’t lessen.”

Of course, baseball has had its own share of gambling-related issues, including the lifetime ban imposed on minor leaguer Tucupita Marcano last year for betting on the sport, and more recently, the non-disciplinary paid leave of Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz as part of a betting-related investigation. The NBA situation, however, puts another fine point on the broader issue.

“Any time health and safety could be jeopardized that raises the concern for us,” Clark said.

Clark said after the Supreme Court decision, in particular, that he had players “within 24 hours reach out, suggesting they were suddenly being followed by gambling sites and other entities.”

He also took particular aim at prop bets.

“We’re in support of removing any types of bets, prop or otherwise, that could create issues for our guys on the field,” Clark said. “We’ve heard a lot about prop bets of late, and it was one of the things we were concerned about from Day 1 as well.”

Checking the Charts

Back in his own sport, Clark again suggested that MLB owners will pursue a salary cap when collective bargaining begins next year, echoing comments he made at the All-Star Game in July. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, when speaking last month at the Front Office Sports Tuned In summit, said club owners have not solidified any negotiating proposals.

Clark, a former MLB player, pointed to the extensive study and preparation that he and many others do before games. 

“As a ballplayer, before every game, I read the scouting reports, and appreciated what my history was against that particular pitcher that night, and I prepared accordingly,” Clark said. “Rob’s been in the game for a long time. I’ve been in the game a long time. We’re preparing accordingly. We’ll sit down, as we always do, with an eye on trying to find common ground.”

The union remains stridently against any implementation of a salary cap. 

“The issues that we see in the system we know can be addressed without a cap,” Clark said.

Not Everyone Is Trying Like the Dodgers

Clark, meanwhile, dismissed a growing suggestion among some baseball fans, and within certain parts of the sport, that a repeat Dodgers title would be damaging for the sport, and perhaps corrosive to the upcoming labor talks, calling such notions “a lot of chatter.” 

The Dodgers’ luxury-tax payroll this year of $416.9 million, a league record, is nearly five times the comparable figure for the Marlins, indicative of an accelerating payroll disparity within the sport. Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts leaned into the notion after the club won the National League pennant, suggesting the Dodgers win four more games to win the World Series and “really ruin baseball.” 

The far bigger issue, according to Clark, is the group of teams that, unlike the Dodgers, aren’t necessarily maximizing every opportunity on and off the field.

“There’s opportunities for all 30 teams to be excellent,” Clark said. “Some are investing in that excellence. Some aren’t.”