Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred confronted by Bryce Harper during meeting, AP source says
CHICAGO — Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred and Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper had a spirited exchange during a question-and-answer session between the commissioner and the team, according to a person with direct knowledge of the conversation.
The person spoke to the AP on Monday on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation. Phillies slugger Nick Castellanos previously confirmed some details from the meeting in interviews with The Bandwagon and ESPN.
Speaking before Philadelphia's game at the Chicago White Sox, Harper did not dispute the published descriptions of his confrontation with Manfred.
'I won't be getting into the details of what happened or how I felt or anything else like that,' Harper said. 'I don't think it does any good for anybody for that to happen. So, for me, I just, you know, trying to worry about baseball, trying to worry about everything in here.'
Manfred met with the Phillies and Red Sox during their series last week in Philadelphia. The session with the Phillies lasted more than an hour.
Manfred spoke with the NL team about the media landscape and working together to grow the sport, according to the person with knowledge of the conversation. At some point, Harper told Manfred if he was there to talk about a salary cap, he could 'get the (expletive) out' of the clubhouse.
Baseball's collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1, 2026, and some players are concerned about a possible management push for a cap. A spokeswoman for the Major League Baseball Players Association declined comment on Monday night.
Harper is a two-time NL MVP and one of the game's marquee names, making his conversation with Manfred more noteworthy. The eight-time All-Star agreed to a $330 million, 13-year deal with the Phillies in February 2019.
'Obviously, I don't want that to happen in those meetings,' Harper said. 'I don't want those things to be out there. I think, you know, when we have meetings with the commissioner or anybody else that comes to our clubhouse, those are good meetings to have.'
Manfred and some owners have cited payroll disparity as one of baseball's biggest problems, while at the same time MLB is working to address a revenue decline from regional sports networks. Unlike the NFL, NBA and NHL, baseball has never had a salary cap because its players staunchly oppose one.
Manfred has been meeting with teams more often since he said in the aftermath of baseball's March 2022 labor agreement that he needed to work on his relationship with players.
'When I talk to the players, I don't try to convince them that a salary cap system would be a good thing,' Manfred said during the All-Star break. 'I identify a problem in the media business and explain to them that owners need to change to address that problem. I then identify a second problem that we need to work together and that is that there are fans in a lot of our markets who feel like we have a competitive balance problem.'
Asked for his argument against a salary cap and why it's such an important issue for players, Harper responded: 'I don't want to get into details as of right now.' He also said he planned to remain vocal about labor issues behind closed doors — just as he has done in the past.
'I've talked labor and I've done it in a way that I don't need to talk to the media about it,' he said. 'I don't need it out there. It has nothing to do with media or anybody else. It's what we can as players and owners and everybody else can come together to try to make this game great.'
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Jay Cohen, The Associated Press
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