SI: Historically, this is the strongest union in pro sports. That came from a lot of work in the 1970s and ’80s, and there were lockouts and strikes, but now we’re at a point where this is the first big fight in a generation—a lot of players right now weren’t even born for the last work stoppage, in ’94. I’m curious about whether that history feels like it carries weight to guys today.
AM: It does. I think certainly as time goes on—maybe we lose an appreciation, you kind of forget what was fought for. But there is a lot of great history out there. It’s passed down. We have a lot of coaches and staff members that went through that, so they can help us appreciate that, and as guys get involved, we have a lot of people on the union staff that went through it, and they can tell those war stories of what they went through and what they accomplished in doing so for us and why we have a lot of the things we have and the appreciation we should have for them. That gets passed down. I hope guys are absorbing everything they can, what’s written and as they’re told about it because I think it’s a pretty incredible story. It’s a pretty incredible accomplishment—what this union’s done over the years. And you’re right, I mean, it might truly be multiple generations of players that have gone without having to see some of these fights. We don’t want to be the generation to have an opportunity and to miss it, to mess it up because the people before us have done such a great job. And, again, you know, this is our chance to maybe correct some wrongs. We only get it—the way our deals are generally set up—every five years. So this is important to us, making sure we pass that along.
SI: Going off of that, what motivated you to be on the executive committee and give your time to this?
AM: It just kind of happened. I became a rep when I was with the Marlins and started to get an appreciation for what our union did—even the little pieces, something like a team maybe not correctly compensating a guy for coming up and down, and getting to know people in the union because as the rep, you had to make the phone call to find out who was the source to answer your question. We’d have a guy come and ask about their pension, and you’ve got to know who to call for that. And learning that and making those connections and just finding that, you know, it’s pretty important—all the little pieces, the checks and balances and what’s been written into the collective bargaining agreements, the value they have. That, and then I would say just, on a selfish level, I find it pretty fascinating: the business side of it, what’s going on and the history. And trying to do my part as a player to, again, pass along a deal that’s as good as the one I found, or better.
SI: Finally, what’s your response to fans who are saying, I’m tired of this, figure it out ?
AM: It’s complicated. We want to figure it out. I think that if you go look at what our intentions have been, and our readiness to discuss issues, there’s no doubt that we thought this process could have been kickstarted much earlier. I think all of our positions are very easy to stand by and reasonable. Certainly, we know that there are compromises to be made. That’s just the reality. That’s the way the system is set up in negotiations like this—that’s fine. But we think we’re in defensible positions everywhere. We’re trying to not only protect players but protect the game because, as I said, a lot of times it’s not functioning best for the fans. We have to be aware of that. We are fans. We love the game, and we are passionate about it and want to pass it along in the best shape and grow the game as much as possible. And unfortunately, sometimes we disagree with the way the league’s doing that, but it’s a chance for us to make sure that’s a priority as well.
