MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said he feels like the league has been "fortunate" to make it to the postseason, but he also feels like it still has "challenges in front of us." Appearing on the "Big Time Baseball" podcast with Jon Heyman and Tony Gwynn Jr., Manfred said it is "really important for the game that we get through this postseason uninterrupted and safe." Discussing how MLB safely navigated the season, Manfred said, "All of us -- not just the players -- at the outset were thinking that testing was really the key." He said after the first couple of outbreaks, "everyone -- us, the players -- everyone really focused in on the fact that the masks, the social distancing and what you were doing away from the ballpark really, really mattered in terms of preventing outbreaks." On the league's decision to switch to its postseason bubble format, Manfred explained, "A lot of people think as the weather gets cooler here, we could be looking at a more serious problem than we have been the last few weeks. We thought it was really important to be in front of that curve." Manfred added the logistics of a bubble in the postseason, "particularly if you wait until the division series, is far more workable than a regular season bubble where you’re trying to play 15 games a day" ("Big Time Baseball," 9/28).
