MLBPA extends executive director Tony Clark through 2022

The Major League Baseball Players Association has voted to extend the contract of executive director Tony Clark through the 2022 season.

The vote of confidence ensures the 46-year-old will lead the union into its next round of collective bargaining agreement negotiations with MLB. The current CBA was ratified in December 2016 and will expire after the 2021 season.

"Confidence is the word I'd take away from this," free-agent reliever Andrew Miller told Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal about the decision to extend Clark. "We have it in Tony. We have confidence in Tony with where we are and where we're going."

Clark, who spent 15 seasons in the majors with six teams, is the first former player to lead the union. He's worked in his current position since 2013 when he took over as executive director after Michael Weiner's death.

Although he successfully negotiated the most recent CBA two years ago, Clark's leadership and negotiating skills have received criticism from some circles given his background as a player and the economic concerns that have dogged the Players Association since ratifying the new agreement. Last winter, the free-agent market was incredibly slow to develop, and many star players, including 2018 MVP candidate J.D. Martinez, only found jobs after spring training had begun.

In August, the MLBPA hired lawyer Bruce Meyer as its senior director of collective bargaining and legal. Meyer, and not Clark, is expected to serve as the union's lead negotiator during the next round of CBA talks.

The MLBPA also announced Wednesday that New York Yankees left-hander James Paxton and Washington Nationals right-hander Max Scherzer were elected to the union's executive subcommittee. Additionally, the Players Trust is donating $100,000 to help with rebuilding efforts following the deadly wildfires in California.