MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred on Thursday said the league remains in a wait-and-see mode with regard to its equity deal with DraftKings and participation in daily fantasy sports. That industry continues to face increasing scrutiny from lawmakers on a state-by-state basis, with legislation varying broadly among jurisdictions. “There’s not a lot of buzz among the group internally,” Manfred said regarding DFS. “I think we’re waiting to see how the daily fantasy works out from a regulatory perspective before we make any moves" (Eric Fisher, Staff Writer).
PICK UP THE PACE: Manfred said that his office "has had constant communication with players about remaining focused on the pace of play initiatives that helped shorten game times" in '15. In DC, Barry Svrluga notes nine-inning games through Wednesday "were averaging two hours, 59 minutes and 54 seconds -- up more than six minutes from the same number of nine-inning games a year ago." Manfred said, “We’re not happy with the early returns in bulk this year, and we’ve made some ongoing efforts to try to regain that focus" (WASHINGTON POST, 5/20).
ONGOING PROCESS: Manfred acknowledged achieving diversity in the managerial realm of the sport remains a struggle, but he cited ongoing training efforts such as the MLB Diversity Pipeline Program as measures to help groom more minority candidates. He said, "We strive to have diversity in all of our various employment groups: Front office, on-field, commissioner's office. Managers are a really difficult issue for us. There are only 30 of them. They turn over frequently. That's the nature of the game. There are going to be periods of time where these numbers ebb and flow. ... It's a tough area for us." The Braves' dismissal of manger Fredi Gonzalez on Tuesday left no Latino managers currently in MLB and just two minority managers in total (Fisher).
