A Rare Face-to-Face Meeting as M.L.B.’s Deadline Nears

Commissioner Rob Manfred had not met Tony Clark, the head of the players’ union, since before the lockout began. Progress was made but time is running out.

JUPITER, Fla. — And on the 85th day of baseball’s lockout, they met.

On Friday at Roger Dean Stadium — where officials from Major League Baseball and the players’ union have gathered all week in an attempt to negotiate a new labor deal with the start of the 2022 regular season fast approaching — M.L.B. Commissioner Rob Manfred and Tony Clark, the head of the union, huddled one on one for roughly 15 minutes.

It was the first time the two leaders of the sport had met since M.L.B. locked out the players on Dec. 2, the day after the previous five-year collective bargaining agreement expired.