MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred appeared this morning on ESPN Radio’s “Mike & Mike,” and said of the state of the league, “We’re really pleased with where the game is. We feel like the game is healthy. We feel like we've got tremendous momentum coming off the World Series last year and the World Baseball Classic, but you always want to be thinking about how you're going to keep that momentum going.” He said of continuing to try and implement rule changes, “An agreement with the players on issues like pace of game is really crucial. They do control what goes on on the field, and these are on-field issues. So we're going to be working at that over the course of the year, obviously along with the MLBPA.” Manfred said of pace of play in MLB, “Pace of game is not something that we thought about in New York and decided it was a problem. It is something that emerges in our fan research. It was not a surprise to us given some of the data. … You've seen the commissioner of the NFL, the commissioner of the NBA talk about this length/pace issue in all sports and it's a product of the way our society is.” Meanwhile, Manfred said of former MLBers previously connected to PEDs such as Barry Bonds and Jose Canseco now working with teams, “Baseball, like American society generally, should be forgiving.” Manfred said of legalizing sports betting in the U.S., “We've begun a conversation, educating people about what's out there, what sports leagues in other countries have done, in an effort to make sure that Major League Baseball's ready to join in what, I think, is going to be a dialogue about how sports gambling regulation in the United States should be changed” (“Mike & Mike,” ESPN Radio, 4/3).
