Rob Manfred’s MLB Commissioner Contract Extended to 2029
Rob Manfred has been extended as Major League Baseball commissioner through Jan. 25, 2029. It is his third five-year term since he succeeded Bud Selig in 2015.
The vote was taken Wednesday by the eight owners who are members of MLB’s executive council. Seattle Mariners managing general partner John Stanton was selected to chair the committee, which is normally headed by the commissioner.
More from Sportico.com
Baseball's Hall of Fame Needs a Steroid Wing, and so Does Cooperstown
Mets' Verlander May Be MLB's Next, and Last, 300 Game Winner
Sporticast: MLB's All-Star Turnaround, NBA's Summer League Business
“Under his leadership, we have been responsive to the fans’ desire for more action and better pace, continued the game’s spirit of innovation, expanded MLB’s role in youth baseball and softball, and beyond,” Stanton said in a statement about Manfred.
Manfred is 64 years old and has overseen a number of changes in MLB since replacing Selig, some of them progressive, some rocky.
Under his watch, MLB worked its way through the tumultuous 60-game pandemic-shortened 2020 season, a lockout of players between the 2021 and 2022 seasons, the consolidation and contraction of the minor league system under the MLB umbrella, and the institution of various rule changes that have impacted the pace of games for the better this season.
Still to come during his new term is the probable move of the A’s from Oakland to Las Vegas, the resolution of the Tampa Bay ballpark situation and a restructuring of the sport’s problematic regional sports network situation. Two teams—the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres—have already lost their local long-term TV packages as Diamond Sports has filed for bankruptcy.
The rule changes, which include a 20-second pitch clock, a restricted number of pick-off throws by the pitcher to hold runners on base, as well as the elimination of defensive infield shifts, have helped shorten the time of major league games by 27 minutes compared to the 2022 season.
“The memories of these first few months are a huge credit to the talents and dedication of our players,” Manfred said earlier this month in an opinion piece he wrote for Sportico. “And the success of the beginning of 2023 is a glimpse into what we can accomplish when we listen to our fans, take hold of the future together, and broaden the game’s reach—in our homes, through our devices, and across our global communities.”
Manfred had been working in MLB under Selig as its top in-house labor lawyer and No. 2 in the commissioner’s office virtually since the players’ strike that wiped out the end of the 1994 season and shortened the 1995 season. As he negotiated contracts and then presided over those deals as commissioner, MLB has yet to miss a game because of a labor dispute since that last strike.
After the devastation of the pandemic, when games in 2020 were played during the regular season and most of the postseason without fans, attendance is now up 8.3% compared to this point last season.
The rule changes seem to be part of the reason.
“At a critical moment in the history of our game, commissioner Manfred has listened to our fans and worked closely with our players to improve America’s pastime,” Stanton said.
Best of Sportico.com
