New MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred is predictably making plenty of headlines in the early days of his tenure and on a variety of issues, such as pace of play and expanded instant replay. Behind the scenes, Chris Marinak is playing a key role in making those and many other initiatives happen.

A key sounding board and adviser to Manfred, but himself not in the media limelight, Marinak leads baseball’s strategy division that focuses on industrywide matters such as replay, scheduling, youth participation, labor relations and club economics. In short, if there’s a major issue within the sport in which Manfred is trying to promote significant change, Marinak is heavily involved.

A former pitcher at the University of Virginia and with degrees in computer engineering and business administration, Marinak is among a select group of MLB staffers who regularly interact with both on-field personnel and club owners, and he’s been widely praised for his ability to communicate with both camps.

“Rob’s a very analytical guy and values that kind of studied approach to issues,” Marinak said. “I, too, like to use numbers and data a lot when thinking things through, so we took to each other well right away when I started at baseball. He’s taking that same kind of analytical approach leaguewide in his new role, so we’ve continued to work closely together.”

Marinak, who’s been at MLB since 2008, is also a primary figure in the sport’s emerging One Baseball effort that seeks to more closely align the operations of MLB with various levels of amateur play. Within that, he is helping lead a study to track and identify the causes and outcomes of on-field injuries.

“It’s a big priority for us,” Marinak said of One Baseball. “There are a lot of organizations like Little League and USA Baseball that want be more active with us and in that conversation, so we’re very hopeful.”

— Eric Fisher