USA TODAY lists its "Most Powerful People In MLB," beginning with Commissioner Rob Manfred, who has "shown a radically different approach in his two years" than his predecessor, Bud Selig (USA TODAY, 4/10).
|
MOST-POWERFUL PEOPLE IN MLB
|
|
1
|
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred
|
6
|
MLB President of Business & Media Bob Bowman
|
|
2
|
MLB Chief Legal Officer Dan Halem
|
7
|
MLBPA Exec Dir Tony Clark
|
|
3
|
MLB COO Tony Petitti
|
8
|
Braves Chair & CEO Terry McGuirk
|
|
4
|
Cardinals Chair & CEO Bill DeWitt Jr.
|
9
|
Excel Sports Management agent Casey Close
|
|
5
|
Agent Scott Boras
|
10
|
MLB Network President Rob McGlarry
|
SPEED DEMONS: The AP's Jake Seiner noted MLB has "changed the way it's recording and reporting pitch speeds, driving up readings all over the league." After previously "using PITCHf/x to provide velocities to broadcasts and ballparks," MLBAM is instead "supplying numbers from its Statcast system." The "key difference is that PITCHf/x calculates velocity at a set point -- usually 50 or 55 feet from the back of home plate -- while Statcast measures velocity directly out of the pitcher's hand." MLBAM Senior Data Architect Tom Tango said that because of that difference, Statcast readings are "faster than PITCHf/x by about 0.6 mph on average" (AP, 4/8).
BASEBALL BY THE BOOKS: In Boston, Nick Cafardo wrote Las Vegas "really wants" a MLB team, "especially after the city secured the NFL’s Raiders." It appears Manfred is "open to this if the situation is right." Cafardo: "It will be interesting to see whether any expansion or relocation plans lead the league to Vegas or Montreal first" (BOSTON GLOBE, 4/9).
