MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred yesterday said the league continues to struggle with issues of diversity and inclusion in midseason executive appointments, despite marked progress in several other areas of baseball hiring. Speaking at the annual Sports Diversity & Inclusion Symposium hosted by MLB this year at Citi Field, Manfred outlined the league's extensive efforts for greater inclusion, such as its Play Ball initiative, Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities and Urban Youth Academies, and the recent retention of leadership search firm Korn Ferry Int'l to provide support services to candidates seeking baseball operations jobs. But several clubs, including the Brewers, Marlins and Red Sox, this season made senior-level changes without strictly adhering to the Selig Rule aimed at promoting minority participation in interview processes. Manfred: "In-season, things are really a challenge, and we're thinking hard about that. One of the things we've done to address the in-season issue is that somebody is going to hire an interim manager already on their staff, is there a commitment to a full process and search after the season? But in-season is a real challenge, particularly with field managers. Somebody has to run the team and we play every day. But we're thinking hard about those issues." Meanwhile, Manfred said further experiments are planned with regard to pace of play after this year’s measures such as more tightly controlled inning breaks and use of pitch clocks in lower ranks of the affiliated minors. The subject will also be a prominent one in talks with the players. MLB games are averaging 2:56, down from 3:02 last season, but a retreat from even greater reductions in the spring. “You will see a continuing evolution of our rules in order to speed the game,” Manfred said, "Things like visits to the mound, both catcher and manager visits. It’s always been astounding to me exactly what wisdom is imparted in those visits, with all due respect to the great managers" (Eric Fisher, Staff Writer).
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE? MLB.com's Paul Hagen noted Manfred on Monday night at the National Press Club "spent an hour fielding questions, which ranged from philosophical to pointed, from award-winning journalist Marvin Kalb on the season-opening edition of The Kalb Report." Kalb "probed MLB's attitude toward fantasy leagues such as DraftKings, asking how it's different from illegal wagering." Manfred said, "What people fail to appreciate about fantasy baseball in particular, you're not betting on the outcome of a game. What you're doing is picking players from multiple teams within a certain defined set of rules and limits, and trying to figure out if you have enough skill to put together a team that's better than the other people who are still in the same contest. It has nothing to do with whether the Nationals beat the Yankees or the Orioles on a particular night." Meanwhile, Manfred said that he believes Mexico "provides a 'tremendous opportunity' for a future franchise, that Cuba could figure in the mix someday but that the logistics of having a team in Japan would be difficult to overcome for a sport that plays almost every day" (MLB.com, 9/29).
