New MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred "can afford to think long term when asked for his priorities," according to Tyler Kepner of the N.Y. TIMES. Manfred said, "The one that I’m most excited about, and I think may be most important for the game over the long haul, is a focus on kids. We have to have more kids, period, playing the game. We have to have more of the best athletes playing the game in order to keep our product compelling on the field." He added that he wants MLB to "be more of a presence in the amateur game, from Little League through the NCAA, to encourage participation." Manfred also "hinted at programs that would draw younger fans to major league parks." He said, "It’s really important that we use technology to make the game as user-friendly in the ballpark and during broadcasts as we possibly can. You can enhance and provide real fans with information via technology that makes the game move faster and keeps people engaged during the game, without distracting from what’s the core, what’s out there on the field." Manfred said of possibly scheduling a daytime World Series game, "I don’t rule that out, and the reason is not that I really foresee it in our current situation, but the media landscape is changing so quickly that to say, ‘We’re never going to do that,’ I think, would be foolhardy." He added of ads on MLB uniforms, "There is more chatter about that in the game 10 years ago than there is now. It’s just not a hot issue for us." As for expansion, Manfred said, "I don't see it in the immediate future" (N.Y. TIMES, 1/25). ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick listed Manfred's "top five priorities" as youth outreach, embracing technology, pace of play, strengthening player relations and forming a more unified business operation (ESPN.com, 1/25).
THE DEFENSE RESTS? Manfred during an interview with ESPN's Karl Ravech reiterated that improving pace of play is one of his top priorities. He said, "Our society is a very fast-paced society. Attention spans are shorter and I think it's really important to us, at least symbolically, to say to fans, ‘We understand that you want this to move as quickly as possible and we're going to continue to modernize the game without harming its traditions in a way that makes it more enjoyable and more attune with the society that we live in.’” He added, "It's important for the game to continue to modernize itself. Traditionalists can be convinced that change is necessary if they see it. I'll give you a great example. In the Arizona Fall League, we used clocks: Pitch clocks, inning clocks. We had some very traditional people involved in that process. When they saw the clock out there and saw the impact it had on the way the game played, they were amazingly positive about that potential change." He also said he would look at "eliminating shifts" by the defense. Manfred: "I would be open to those sorts of ideas. … We had really smart people working in the game and they're going to figure out ways to get a competitive advantage. I think it's incumbent upon us in the commissioner's office to look at the advantages that are produced and say, ‘Is this what we want to happen in the game?’” ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 1/25). In Pittsburgh, Bob Smizik writes Ravech "was a bit stunned by Manfred’s stance" on eliminating shifts. Smizik: "Why wouldn’t teams want to place players where the ball is being hit instead of employing near-mindless positioning that had been in vogue for more than 100 years?" What is "particularly astonishing is Manfred wants the commissioner’s office to work toward eliminating competitive advantages." If his goal is "eliminating competitive advantages, he should consider a salary cap." Smizik: "In effect, he wants to punish innovation. Heck of a way to run a sport" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 1/26).
BACK TO THE BAY: In S.F., John Shea notes Manfred inherits an A's ballpark problem that "won't go away." MLB Commissioner Emeritus Bud Selig: "I often said to Rob I want to leave him with a clean slate, and I’m leaving him with a pretty good slate. But this will be one that needs to be addressed. He has all the knowledge, and we just have to work out something that frankly is a rational, constructive solution for all parties concerned." Shea writes the A’s "are nowhere closer" to a new ballpark than they were in March '09, when Selig "formed a three-man committee to study possible options." In fact, Selig said the committee "pretty much disbanded." He noted that Chair Bob Starkey is Manfred’s new CFO. Selig: "The committee was very useful, very constructive. But I would think they’d maybe do a different mechanism." Though Selig "wouldn’t say the A’s should stay in Oakland, he did say he hopes they remain in the Bay Area." Selig: "I think two teams can exist in the Bay Area. Certainly, [A's Owners John Fisher and Lew Wolff] want to stay in the Bay Area. When I say Bay Area, you understand there are several alternatives" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 1/26).
COMMITTEE SELECTIONS: The N.Y. TIMES' Kepner wrote the fact that Mets Owner Fred Wilpon is the new MLB Finance Committee Chair "sounds like a punch line." But Manfred "defended Wilpon and clarified his responsibilities." Manfred said, "I understand the whole Madoff thing, but before and since, Fred Wilpon was an extraordinarily successful businessman. The committee -- the finance and compensation committee -- really deals with two issues, principally: executive compensation, which he’s more than capable of dealing with, and a central office budget. Obviously, to be a successful businessman, you have to know how to budget" (N.Y. TIMES, 1/25). In Cleveland, Paul Hoynes noted Manfred named Indians President Mark Shapiro to the MLB Competition Committee after he "served on Selig's committee of on field matters" since '09. Shapiro said of Manfred, "He's a thoughtful, highly-intelligent guy, who is a strategic thinker. I think that bodes well for problems that will develop in front of MLB in the next generation" (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 1/26).
HELLO, MY NAME IS...: YAHOO SPORTS' Tim Brown wrote of Manfred, "He is smart. He is tenacious. And now the job is to organize 30 owners toward one end, like tethering grade-schoolers on a field trip to the planetarium, as Selig did for an entire generation" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 1/25). ESPN.com's Crasnick wrote Manfred has "graduated from the backstreets to the game's biggest stage." Armed with his "intellect, ambition and a life's worth of lessons, he is ready to make some baseball history of his own" (ESPN.com, 1/24). Phillies President & CEO David Montgomery said, “I think baseball made a good choice. I think he will do well. He'll take the best of Bud and add to it. I think Bud was incredible in trying to get everybody to agree, which is why it took a long time for some things to get done. He wanted all 30 clubs to agree. I think Rob is going to say what is good for 25 or 26 is good for baseball and we'll probably see an up tempo on some of the thornier issues. I think Rob knows we need to act in a brisker manner than we have in the past” (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 1/26). MLB.com’s Paul Hagen wrote Manfred ultimately will “put his own stamp on the office.” Manfred said, "One piece of advice that I will keep in mind is, ‘Trust your instincts and be your own guy.’ And I intend to do both” (MLB.com, 1/25).
