MLB Players Outraged by Agent’s Dealings wiht League

Players are “justifiably outraged” at Major League Baseball over the double dealings a player agent had with top league officials, including commissioner rob Manfred, the players’ union said Wednesday.

The union accused Manfred of downplaying and mischaracterizing events that led the MLB players Association to decertify player agent Jim Murray for four years, calling the episode “extremely revealing” of the league’s own strategies.

In a 71-page notice of discipline it distributed to players this month, the Players Association detailed myriad back-channeling communications Murray had with Manfred and other league officials during sensitive negotiations in 2020, when the players and owners were discussing what players should be paid during the COVID-19 pandemic. At one point, Murray advised Manfred not to give in to union head Tony Clark.

Manfred on Wednesday positioned the communications as routine, and the union shot back that they were anything but.

“I understand the union’s take on that situation,” Manfred said during a Wednesday news conference. “All I can tell you is that from the day I first set foot in Major League Baseball in 1986, every time there was a negotiation, there were conversations where agents reached out to owners, agents reached out to the commissioner’s office, the union reached out to owners. It has always happened. I did not regard those conversations to be different from any of the others that have taken place over the period of time that I’ve been involved.”

Responded the union in a statement to The Athletic: “Mr. Manfred’s comments suggesting there’s ‘nothing to see here’ both mischaracterize the facts and are extremely revealing of the league’s general approach to labor negotiations. There is nothing ‘business as usual’ about an agent acting as a ‘mole’ for the commissioner’s office,providing highly confidential information,circumventing the will of the players’ elected representatives.”

Key Takeaways

• MLB players are upset about an agent, Jim Murray, secretly communicating with league officials.
• The MLBPA decertified Murray for four years due to these actions.
• Commissioner Rob Manfred downplayed the situation, calling the communications “routine.”
• The union strongly disagrees, stating Murray acted as a “mole” for the league.
• The communications occurred during sensitive COVID-19 pandemic negotiations regarding player pay.