MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has "no plans to add teams" to the league, according to a Q&A with Bill Shaikin of the L.A. TIMES. Manfred said, "There has not been a lot of talk about expansion." He also said he is "committed to the idea that we are going to do everything possible to get the A's a new facility." Below are excerpts from the interview:
Q: It does not appear to be a coincidence ... that you have promoted the guy who ran MLB.com and the guy who ran MLB Network to be two of your top lieutenants. What does that reflect about your priorities and how you want to attack them?
Manfred: We own a world-class technology company. Forget about a sports website. We own a world-class technology company. A great vehicle for engaging younger people with the game is through the use of technology. I think it's important that we take all the ability, brainpower and muscle that is embedded in that company and use it to make sure our broadcasts are as good as possible, and to make sure our in-park experience is as good as possible. There is nothing that attracts kids like technology.
Q: In terms of keeping ... interest alive at the end of the season, are you considering whether to expand the playoffs?
Manfred: One thing that we have not kicked around is additional changes to the playoffs. We're only two years into the one wild-card game.
Q: What do you think a lawyer brings to a commissioner's table that might not have been needed 30 or 40 years ago?
Manfred: Dealing with unionized employees is the bailiwick of lawyers. So I think that is one factor that is important. I also think lawyers have changed, to tell you the truth. I think more and more lawyers have stopped practicing law and have gone out and engaged in much broader activities as their careers go on. That certainly has been true of my career.
Q: [Will the A's get a new facility] within their territory?
Manfred: I'm going to go no further. I will say this: Baseball has always had a policy of encouraging teams to stay where they are. We think our teams form a bond with their communities (L.A. TIMES, 2/4).
AMERICA'S GAME: The TIMES' Shaikin notes MLB's TV audience is "getting old," and one of Manfred's "primary goals is to engage young people and nurture them into lifetime fans." Dodgers Chair Mark Walter said that Manfred is already "working on multiple fronts to engage a generation that has grown up on video games." Walter: "It's not just flipping the switch and making it better." Giants President & CEO Larry Baer said, "Not only is it not a lost generation, it's a generation that we can capture uniquely." Shaikin notes RSNs "provide a growing share of baseball's revenue." But the trade-off of having more coverage of the home team and less of all other teams "bites baseball during the playoffs and World Series, when casual fans tune out if their team has been eliminated." Baer said, "Our brands have real strength. If you are a Yankee fan in New York or a Cub fan in Chicago or a Dodger fan in L.A., it's huge. How do we create the national overlay and do some things nationally?" (L.A. TIMES, 2/4).
