While in Washington last week for a series against the Nationals, the Mets re-elected Brandon Nimmo as their player rep.
This year will mark the third consecutive season for Nimmo as the team’s liaison to the Players’ Association. Additionally, Francisco Lindor serves on the eight-member executive subcommittee.
Nimmo’s re-election comes at a fascinating time for the PA. In March, deputy executive director and lead labor negotiator Bruce Meyer faced an attempted mutiny by a former union executive Harry Marino.
Meyer and executive director Tony Clark withstood the challenge, and Nimmo supports them. So does Lindor, who was a strong voice for saving Meyer, according to sources with direct knowledge of that process.
Nimmo told SNY on Wednesday that the drama did result in an upcoming third-party audit of the PA’s finances, among other tweaks [“No comment,” Meyer said in a text message].
He also discussed on-field issues like the pitch clock, injuries, and player skepticism about automated balls and strikes, or so-called “robo umps.”
Here is our full conversation, lightly edited for clarity.
Martino: In a non-CBA year, what do you see as the major issues facing players and the game?
Nimmo: Personally, I think what came up early in the year. Basically, the players want to know the exact direction that we're going in, and they want solidarity behind that. What came out in the beginning of the year came out really fast and furious, definitely was unexpected. But I think in the end it will end up being a really great thing, and something that will solidify players and make us stronger going forward.
Because it forced the conversation?
It forced the conversation. You're exactly right. So that's great … definitely one of the things that came out was, we want a full third-party audit that is put in layman's terms that we can understand. Not everybody from the player side went to business school, right?
We definitely have those guys that do understand all of it. But that's not the majority of us. You have to meet people where they're at, especially from the union standpoint. So I think that is going to be key going forward into November for the [PA] meetings, that those questions are not left unanswered or pushed to the side -- that everything is being dealt with.
Now that we've gotten into the season, they're being dealt with on the backside. The players are more concerned with, ‘right now, I have to perform. I'm worried about the season and day-to-day travel.’ Like, we were more concerned with London than who we're choosing for our third-party audit right now.
So anyways, I think moving towards November, those are the things that we're trying to get in line.
And that's understanding how and where money is spent?
One thousand percent. And then there were also other things that were brought up, like maybe beefing the lawyers on our side. Maybe we need more staff. How can we continue to get better at communication? How can we shore things up inside of our players union, because as much as we try to [keep issues in-house] things always get out. All of these things that were brought up in spring training, I think they're going to be really healthy moving forward, and have been the biggest focus so far for the union moving forward in this year.
Are you behind Tony and Bruce?
Yeah. I mean, I am, but I don't think that I'm of the opinion that we can't get better. That's something that I've been trying to do my whole career, find something and try and get better at it. And so, I think that, I'm on the side of, I don't see how what they did in the last CBA was contrary to what the players [wanted]. I was in on that vote, and everybody but I think it was the Astros, us and another team voted yes [the Astros, Mets, Yankees and Cardinals were the teams that voted against ratifying the current CBA in 2022].
So from my standpoint, I was like, ‘Well, they did exactly what the players wanted. The majority of the players won, right?' That's what you have it for. And so I didn't see anything but I also believe that you can completely get better. If you don't adapt, you die.
And so with the things that continue to be added to the game, with the technology that we have with everything, you continue to try and get better and be at the top of your game as you're approaching CBAs.
Is there on-field stuff that guys are talking about?
One of the things that they're trying to figure out is a correlation between these injuries and the pitch clock. It was definitely tested in the minor leagues. But let's be honest, a medical test usually has to be like a 10-year study, and that's not the way things are going now. Also with this new schedule, is that also part of what's going into it? It's a lot more traveling, right? We’re just proactively trying to make the game as good as it can possibly be for the viewer, while at the same time preserving the quality of the game and the health of the players.
Having conversations about how to strike that balance.
One hundred percent. And then I think the next thing that's going to start coming around right is that in AAA, they're doing the ABS [Automated Balls and Strikes] and they're doing the challenge systems, so that's going to be a conversation coming forward. We'll see what else that [MLB] wants to try and make the game better, but those are the things at the forefront of my mind right now.
Are players generally reluctant about ABS coming here?
Yeah, from what I'm hearing -- and this is purely what I'm hearing; I have no experience with it -- but what I'm hearing is that from the pitcher side of things, there's really no top of the zone. And I've heard it from the hitters as well that the strike zone is quite a bit smaller, AAA. And so from my point of view, the pitchers do not want to see the ABS in the big leagues at all. The challenge system, I think, people are more open to. But from what I've heard, ABS is going to be a tough sell right now. It can obviously be improved upon and changed, but I have heard from guys that have come from AAA that it is a big difference. That's only what I’ve heard.
In terms of the third-party audit just to make sure I heard you right -- that has not started yet?
No. They're in the process of selecting it. They're in the process of possibly trying to add to the lawyer counsel. But as far as I know, the background audit has not started yet. That could have changed in the last week. I've been a little bit -- the last 10 days. I've been out of it [the Mets traveled to and from London]. That could have changed, but to my knowledge -- I think they've settled on probably who is going to do it. But there might be two options on that right now. It's down to the nitty-gritty.
