Four days after Orioles CF Adam Jones was the subject of racial slurs in a game in Boston, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said that the league office is "consulting with all 30 teams to ensure both players and fans do not feel threatened," according to Chris Miller of the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE. Manfred prior to Friday's Red Sox-Twins game said MLB is "gathering information from clubs to get a good feel for what their practices are. ... So we can provide our players with an environment where they feel comfortable in every major league stadium that they play. We want to make sure that we know exactly what the clubs are doing before we start recommending changes" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 5/6). Manfred said the survey of MLB's 30 teams "could prelude to more industry-wide guidelines in this area." Twins President Dave St. Peter said that survey results "likely will be shared" during the owners' meeting May 17-18 in N.Y. St. Peter: "We expect it could come with a series of recommendations and suggestions from the league office." He added that he "couldn’t recall a fan being ejected, or banned from, the Metrodome or Target Field for racist behavior" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 5/6).
CHANGING THE LANDSCAPE: In Chicago, Shannon Ryan writes under the header, "MLB Has Opportunity To Reshape Its Image After Racial Incidents In Boston." African-American players made up only 7.7% of Opening-Day rosters this season, "making it harder for players to feel comfortable raising these concerns." With a national spotlight on the sport after these "ugly incidents, baseball can make a change for the better and along the way help its brand" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 5/8).
ADDRESSING LEAGUE ISSUES: In St. Paul, John Shipley noted Manfred "answered questions on a range of topics including expansion, franchise movement and baseball’s reaction" to the incident at Fenway Park. Manfred said, "I can’t say that in terms of length of the game we’ve seen any progress this year. On average, we’re about where we were last year (about 2 hours, 50 minutes on average). Having said that, our focus is really not on length as much as it is pace; in other words, eliminating dead time." He added, "There is plenty of dead time we can take out so that in the future we don’t have to make rule changes that have a competitive affect in terms of who is actually going to win a game." Asked about the possibility of Mexico having an MLB franchise, Manfred said, "Some great players come from Japan, and they’ve got a great domestic product. I’d like Mexico to be the same. We need to play in Mexico. We played there last spring. The event was successful. It was an exhibition game; I’d like to play regular-season games in Mexico. ... In terms of longer term, the idea of having a franchise outside of the continental United States, an additional one, and the idea of that franchise being somewhere in Mexico, is very appealing to me" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 5/7). Meanwhile, Manfred said that "more severe punishment for a pitch thrown at a batter's head would have to be collectively bargained with the players' union." He said he hopes to "have a continuing dialogue with [Exec Dir] Tony Clark and the MLBPA about whether our rules in this area are really sufficient" (ESPN.com, 5/6).
