ROB MANFRED, a high-ranking exec in Major League Baseball for many years, "was chosen Thursday by the league’s owners" to succeed BUD SELIG as commissioner, "one of the most powerful positions in sports," according to Michael S. Schmidt of the N.Y. TIMES. Manfred "was confirmed after several ballots by baseball’s 30 owners, who convened in a closed-door ballroom in downtown Baltimore." In the initial ballot "he received 22 votes, one short of what he needed." Hours later, he "received all 30 votes, putting an end to an election process that had grown increasingly contentious." Manfred will be the sport’s 10th commissioner. TOM WERNER, an owner of the Boston Red Sox, and TIM BROSNAN, baseball’s exec VP for business, "were the other finalists for the position" (N.Y. TIMES, 8/14). USA TODAY's Paul White wrote as MLB's chief labor negotiator, the Cornell and Harvard Law School graduate "helped transform the relationship with the players' union into a smooth one that has resulted in an unprecedented three consecutive collective bargaining agreements without a work stoppage and ongoing cooperation in toughening the game's drug program." Manfred's relationship with the union, especially with Exec Dir MICHAEL WEINER before Weiner's death last year, "drew criticism from some owners that Manfred had become too soft" (USA TODAY, 8/14).
