The MLBPA Should Not Tolerate Tony La Russa’s Actions
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A designated hitter has exactly one job on the baseball field: to hit baseballs. On Monday, Yermín Mercedes did exactly that for the White Sox, homering in a 16-4 rout of the Twins. According to his manager Tony La Russa, going deep was somehow the wrong thing to do.
MLB’s twisted, nebulous honor code, upheld primarily by stodgy curmudgeons like La Russa, apparently indicates there is a wrong way to hit a home run. Mercedes’ blast occurred on a 3-0 count in the ninth inning off a position player throwing less than 50 mph, swinging through a “take” sign. La Russa vocally admonished his player after the game for literally hitting a home run.
The following day, Minnesota pitcher Tyler Duffey was ejected for throwing behind Mercedes. Instead of defending his player, La Russa’s reaction was, “I don’t have a problem with how the Twins handled that.”
Right and Wrong
There is no gray area here; La Russa is entirely in the wrong. As per the rules of the game, Mercedes had to come to the plate, no matter how farcical the situation. He produced the best outcome possible in any given plate appearance, not only for his team but for himself.
Mercedes is a 28-year-old “rookie,” with just one MLB plate appearance prior to the 2021 season. In his first decade as a professional from 2011-2020, he suited up at nearly every level of the minors, LIDOM, two different independent leagues, and the Caribbean Series. It’s quite possible he’s made more money earning the MLB minimum in the past month-and-a-half in the majors than he did over the past ten years combined. He currently leads MLB with a .368 batting average, seriously upping the White Sox’ MLB Odds.
It’s a heartwarming story, but it won’t end with a monster contract. Mercedes won’t be eligible for free agency until 2027 when he’ll be 34 years old. Even if he’s still a productive hitter by then, he’s unlikely to get a multi-year contract. More than likely, his biggest paydays will happen via arbitration, for which he’ll be eligible in 2024. After years of poverty wages, that will be his best opportunity to cash in on a seven-figure salary. That means every plate appearance is that much more valuable.
Where is the MLBPA?
This is where the MLB Players Association needs to tap in. Given the financial value of every home run as well as La Russa’s detestable behavior, they must stand up for their member. Unwritten rules that call for players to forfeit plate appearances are antilabor and have negative effects on wages. The vague “consequence he has to endure within our family,” could be under the MLBPA’s purview as well.
Mercedes’ public undressing by management for doing his job too well should be unacceptable to the union. This is especially true when La Russa may have directly or indirectly contributed to Duffey endangering Mercedes. Duffey is an MLBPA member as well, so they can’t make a statement on the intended beaning, but a manager should have no right to throw his player under the bus for hitting a home run. MLB is a public-facing entity, and players get called out in press conferences all the time, but there’s a world of difference between hitting a pitch into the seats and, for example, failing to run out a ground ball.
Mercedes’ teammates and fellow MLBPA members appear to have taken his side:
This is precisely the type of situation in which the MLBPA too often fails to publicly intervene. A statement of support for their member and rebuke of La Russa would send a clear message to fans, media, management, and their own membership. They have an opportunity to seize some power over nefarious unwritten rules that have real labor consequences. So far, they have failed to act.
Solidarity
Professionally, I am a public school teacher and president of my labor association. If an administrator or member of the board of education publicly derided one of my members, my association would come to their aid immediately. Discipline should be handled privately and fairly in public education. Obviously, this is not analogous to MLB; players get dragged through the press all the time. However, the MLBPA needs to draw the line at management tearing them apart in public when they did nothing wrong, and in actuality deserve commendation.
Baseball writing isn’t my main job— or even my main side job— so in the time it took me to write this article, MLBPA Executive Director Tony Clark could have absolutely put out a statement defending his member and/or called a virtual press conference. It’s an egregious missed opportunity for the union to show strength in backing their member for playing the game the actual right way— to swing for the fences whenever possible. Instead, La Russa’s horrendous comments and actions remain publicly unchecked.
