MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred was the first of Craig Carton’s three guests on his Day of Commissioners Thursday, and had a lot to say about potential rules changes and the future of the game. Here now is a quote book from the commish about a few of those topics:
On the possibility of a work stoppage: “I’m an optimist, I don’t see as inevitable some sort of disagreement or fight with the MLBPA. A lot of smart people at the table will figure out a way to make a deal. I can speak most definitively about the owners, and our deepest desire is to make an agreement without a problem. It’s really important for the sport, and there’s no reason given the economics why we can’t do that.”
On the Universal DH: “We made a variety of proposals midterm that involved a universal DH. I think there’s a package of issues with the way the game is played that both parties will whittle down prior to the expiration of the CBA in December.”
On seven-inning doubleheaders and fan response: “That was a COVID thing and it worked really well last year when experts told us not to keep our players together too long. What happened this year that made it more controversial is split doubleheaders; last year we had no fans, so we were just playing two games. This year, the problem is, you invest a bunch of money in tickets, but not only do I move you do a different day, then you get seven innings instead of nine? That’s a problem. It makes things move along faster, but it’s a real issue.”
On the extra-inning runner rule: “I think it’s a good change for our game. There aren’t a ton of people that want to see 18 innings, so I think it makes it like overtime in other sports – you have a much better idea about when action will happen. You might capture a casual fan with the enticement of knowing when this game is going to be decided. I think that’s good for the sport in the long haul.”
On banning the shift: “The shift has been a big conversation piece within the game and many would like to see it regulated – but this is part of the mix that will get shaken out in collective bargaining. The interesting thing there is let’s say you make a rule about it...what’s the downside? The game looks like it always has?”
On expanded playoffs: “I think the best thing I can say is that I like the expanded playoff format we had last year, and thought it was exciting in the early rounds.”
On robotic strike zones: “From a technology perspective, we have a system that we’ve used at various levels in the minors that is definitely up to the task. It is an outstanding system. We’ve been at the forefront of sports and technology, and the system that has been developed is really accurate. It looks like baseball has traditionally looked, but I think there is a policy judgment to be made as to it – not every technology that is developed should be used. But here, there’s no disruption to the traditional role of the umpire, and there’s real thought and care that went into that system.”
On potential realignment: “There’s two sides to that coin. The positive side is that if you realigned, we could do a better job for our fans in the early rounds of the playoffs, and avoid what’s always a challenge for us: Anaheim plays Boston in the first round, and who gets the game time that’s less than ideal for their fans? But then again, it’s hard to imagine an AL East that doesn’t look like the current AL East. I think people get used to rivalries and that’s really important to our sport.”
On broadcast blackouts: “The blackouts exist because rights are sold exclusively to Regional Sports Networks, and we don’t have the right to do it on MLB TV. The league overlay is that one of our most important priorities is we deliver games to our fans who want to watch them, and we are working hard on that. With less distribution and people in the cable bundle, we see that as a problem, and we’re working hard to correct it.”
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