We’re just over one year into the official tenure of Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred, and the (relatively) newly appointed executive took some time to chat with Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports and with Jerry Crasnick of ESPN to reflect on his first year in that role. While I’d recommend reading each Q&A in its entirety — Manfred offers interesting thoughts on matters such as his leadership style, interaction with collegiate baseball, and the future of MLB Advanced Media — here are some particularly relevant highlights from the pair of interviews …
- Manfred tells Passan that he is still “one hundred percent” in favor of adding an international draft in the future. “I just think you’ve got to follow the fundamentals on this one,” Manfred explained. “Getting into a single method of entry into the industry will be the most effective in terms of promoting competitive balance.” Manfred didn’t commit to a firm timeline in terms of implementing the draft, but Manfred has spoken in the past about the fact that the influx of high-priced Cuban free agents has “put a stress test” on the international bonus system that was collectively bargained in the last wave of negotiations. While adding an international draft in the upcoming CBA is an ambitious goal, it doesn’t strike me as far-fetched to have a framework drawn up for the following round of negotiations.
- Both Passan and Crasnick asked Manfred about the possibility of eventually expanding beyond the 30 teams currently in the league, and Manfred spoke in favor of doing so. “We’re a growth business,” he told Passan. “Sooner or later, growth businesses expand. Having said that, I do not have a timetable. It’s not a short-term project for us.” Crasnick asked, more specifically, about the possibility of expanding internationally, and Manfred told him that there are indeed international sites that “would be intriguing” as the league looked to expand. However, Manfred also noted that expansion is “not a this-week or this-year issue,” rather characterizing the concept as a longer-term goal.
- Manfred said that he did not mean to invite speculation about the addition of the DH to the National League in some recent comments. “The most likely result on the designated hitter for the foreseeable future is the status quo,” he told Crasnick. “I know [Cardinals general manager] John Mozeliak talked about it, and when you have any National League club talking about it, it’s interesting. But I think the vast majority of clubs in the National League want to stay where they are.” As Manfred went on to note to Passan, it’s important to remember that the DH issue is something that could (but may not) come up in the upcoming collective bargaining talks.
- As for the CBA more generally, Manfred called himself “a CBA optimist” and said he expects to find common ground with the player’s association. “We’ve developed a strong and mature relationship with the MLBPA,” he told Crasnick. “I think the players are doing great, and the owners are happy with the economics. I think there’s enough money in the game that we can find a way to make a new agreement.” When asked by Passan whether a work stoppage would be on the horizon, Manfred said he’d “do everything humanly possible to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
- Regarding the as-yet-untested domestic violence policy reached between the league and the players, Manfred provided some interesting background. The decision was made to pursue a collectively bargained arrangement, he said, in order to ensure a “complete approach to the issue” and also because “collectively bargained policies in disciplinary areas generally have more acceptance among the players because they provide them with certain safeguards that our players have been used to over time.”
Why do they need a separate draft for international players? The other three sports make due just well with international players drafted in the same draft as domestic players.
Agreed
Because not always are the players eligible in time
If a player isn’t eligible for a particular yrs draft then they will have to wait til the next seasons draft…not a difficult solution.
No its not a difficult solution but it is a very short sighted one. Why not have multiple drafts?
The biggest difference is the minor league system. International players sign at 16 and usually don’t come to the states for 2-3 years after they sign. And even then they still spend several more years in the minors. The NFL doesn’t have that option and they draft very few (if any) international players anyway. The NBA drafts and stashes, but they also have much smaller rosters to fill. 20 players fills an NBA team and their portion of a D-League team, while baseball requires somewhere around 200. The NHL is probably the most similar, but to be honest I don’t know much about their minor leagues or their roster.
Hockey has more Overseas League then US Leagues and NHL Teams has less Minor League Teams then MLB Teams do. The NFL and NBA needs Minor Leagues. MLS doesn’t have a World wide Draft.
Expansion is need so Orlando can get a Team,DH and Pitcher in same Lineup.
the NFL does have minor leagues its called college football. the NFL loves it because it don’t cost them anything.
Bonuses simple and plain. There needs to be a separate draft. The slot value of 16 year olds should not be the same as high school seniors or college athletes. If we look at the situation a majority that sign play 2 years in the DSL with very few making it to the states. You would further water down the pool and eliminate the chances for many US born players.
because no other country would agree to to putting it’s 15-16 year olds up against american college and high school talent. only a few of them would have any prayer of going higher than, like, the 5th round so they’d all wind up getting bonuses of a few thousand dollars each both because they’re later round picks and have no leverage to use against the team that drafts them.
under the current system even the average IFAs can negotiate for contracts in the 25-50K range. and international draft would see that money dry up completely over-night, so it’s a really bad deal for anybody but MLB. the other national baseball federations would avoid that system like a plague and MLB can’t force them in to it.
There’s too much money in the current system for an international draft to ever materialize
Agreed
“Thanks our media deals, MLB and the players are like pigs in slop these days,” said Manfred. “We are so grateful to cable subscribers who are have shown a willingness to pay massive and ever-increasing bills to finance both the huge growth in team profits and baseball salaries. Without you, none of this would be possible.”
One of the quotes we’d like to see, but never will.
If I didn’t already know you were a Dodgers fan, I would now.
I don’t follow your interpretation.
When Manfred says, “I think there’s enough money in the game that we can find a way to make a new agreement,” what he really means is, “we are rolling in it like never before.”
Not surprised at the glacial pace of change in baseball with regards to the DH. Either add it to the NL or eliminate it altogether and go to an 8 man lineup and be done with it.
I’m a traditionalist! I don’t want a DH. Why do we change things just to change things. Baseball strategy is NL is better. Sorry, just love the game the way it is.
It’s getting so old that the leagues have different rules. Players Association will never approve the elimination of 15 DH jobs, so DH in the NL is the only way to make everything the same.
Read an interesting idea, to use a PH at any point in the game for the pitcher (when he is due up) but either one can take the field the next inning, and whoever is taken out is done for the day.
A little more in depth than that but that’s the summary. If I find the link I will post it.
Let’s make hitters pitch. Why not, NL fans? Is that not even more pure? Let’s rotate all 9 players through every position one inning at a time. We can watch catchers play short, pitchers play centerfield and every player pitches an inning. What could be purer than that?
Yeah, just like how they played way back never
Because we should do everything the way we did them in 1930, yes.
That’s precisely what I meant
Then by that analogy, you’d be in favor of No Instant Replay since Human Element was always a part of the game.
Since my smart mouth response to the question of “what could be purer than that” eluded everybody, I’ll just go ahead and bite…
…My distaste for instant replay has less to do with the “human element” and more to do with why the league thinks that baseball’s long-term future is dependent on kowtowing to the MTV generation
Those kids and their rap music and their technological advances and their higher standard of living than was ever thought possible 60 years ago. *shakes fist*
Well, pre- and post-MTV are pretty specific entertainment industry terms about how things are produced in TV and movies…
This one might be a little too complicated for you.
sure, why not? so long as each player has to actually play the field to be eligible to hit like the other 8 real ballplayers in the line-up around him.
While we’re at it, why not go to offensive and defensive squads? Then we’d never have to see anyone play who isn’t good at doing only one thing. Works for football and we all know football is a much more watchable sport than baseball
Players association would never agree to that
Come on surely you can think of a better reason why it’s a bad idea. Or maybe you can’t?
well you’d have to articulate in detail what you intend by “go(ing) to offensive and defensive squads” in order for me to make fun of the idea more to your liking.
I intended mild satire, and it seems to have hit the mark.
It’s pretty well established that millennials can’t appreciate throwing a curve over the outside of the plate for a called strike on a 2-0 count. Maybe we could shorten the game to five innings and have pyrotechnics synced with lousy commercial rock songs going after every line drive.
I’m pretty sure you have no idea what you are talking about – or your definition of millennial is incorrect. (Millennials are born from 1980-1996: pew research center) You do know you are on a baseball site created and owned by a millennial. And commenting on an article written by another millennial. Most of this site is written by millennials. Blog sites covering baseball are dominated by millennials – lohud Yankees bleeding Yankee blue. Most of the good sports writers are young – bill west at the Pittsburgh trib and Evan drellich at the Houston chron. I’m confident in saying they have a fair appreciation for the game. We drive baseball fandom. We are the reason baseball in the northeast is now year round. We drove that. We are the reason fantasy baseball has never been bigger. Why daily fantasy leagues blew up in the past few years. Why there is a mobile app that allows people on the east coast to watch a random Padres vs Rockies game on a Tuesday evening. We are the target demo for sites like fangraphs. And I wouldn’t be surprised if the vast majority of readers (maybe not commenters) of this site are millennials. Next time you watch a game, look at the faces in the stands. It’s millennials and the younger portion of Generation Y that represent most of the fans. Stat track isn’t to bring millennials into the game, it’s because we are already here, been here for years, and that’s something we like to see. Go to a minor league game, see all of the millennials there. And we do it with far less disposable income. To say that millennials don’t appreciate the game is absolutely absurd…
Take a breath. First off, I AM a millennial so rest assured that I’m keenly aware of what a millenial is.
Did I say no millennials anywhere appreciate baseball? No. But do you honestly think that the average millennial picks around Fangraphs and the rest of the sabermetricsphere? Do you think the average millennial wants to know every minor league signing and waiver claim? Do you think that the average millennial wants to watch a random Padres vs. Rockies game? Do you think the Some millennials, sure. David Stearns is a millenial but that doesn’t mean every millenial should be the GM of a major league franchise. All of the things you mentioned are things that are right with baseball right now. I’m one of those who can’t get enough baseball and I’ll soak up every bit of info I fa here, Fangraphs, wherever, and when I’m done I’ll go play OOTP for nine hours. That, however, doesn’t mean that it’s very representative of what things trend towards with this genaroon.
All of those things you and I perceive as great are perceived by a lot of people — including lots of serious sports fans — as things that make baseball an esoteric game. Like it or not, we’re going to have to deal with the fact that a lot of people think a 2-1 pitchers’ duel is a boring game because we need more offense. It’s not as colorful or showy as football. It’s not as simple to understand as hockey or basketball. Baseball has already acted on this idea with the pace of play stuff so we know they take it seriously. On top of that, baseball lags measurably behind football and basketball in youth participation (and definitely hockey in my area) and is about on par with soccer, which has only a budding major league. Why? Because they’re viewed as more accessible whereas baseball is increasingly viewed as a specialized sport. Just google “Little League Crisis” and it’s all over the place.
Or, maybe you’ve just never had the “baseball is boring” conversation with someone before. If that’s the case, I envy you, and I’d love to move in and split the rent in whatever cave it is you’re living in.
I’ll respond to your points in pieces:
1: not everybody uses the term millennial properly – my opening statement was made to assure that we were on the same page.
2: do I think the avg millennial picks around fangraphs and wants to know their teams transactions – yes. Sites like this one and fangraphs factual existence evidences just that. These sites wouldn’t exist, let alone be successful if there wasn’t a demand for it.
3: do I think the avg millennial watches the random pad/rox game? Not necessarily, but enough do to create a market for iPhone and iPad based viewing. I can tell you that when strasburg made his first start, 4 millennials (with varying degrees of baseball acumen) were all home by 6 pm to watch him blow thru the buccos lineup.
4: youth participation – I do not know where you are from, but here in north east pa, 4 local (within 3 miles of each other) have added additional little league teams in just this past year. Two new traveling teams were founded. 3 new baseball/softball only year round training facilities have been established and a softball pitching coach, that I know personally, has a wait list about a page and a half long.
5: youth participation as a whole – rbi baseball has never been bigger or more successful. At no time has enrollment ever been as large and it continues to grow yearly. The little league World Series has never been more popular – as evidenced by the now present tabs on ESPN, yahoo, and fox sports for the llws. Not to mention the vastly expanded facilities and additional ballparks and seating to accommodate the fans in Williamsport. I don’t know if you have ever been to Williamsport for the llws, but I can tell you from experience, the interest and attendance has ballooned since my days of riding cardboard down the hill beyond the outfield fences,
6: I googled little league crisis like you had reccomended. And there was one article from slate, another covering the impending crisis in youth sports from breaking muscle.com and the rest were posted from midlife crisis Hawaii. I find this point unsubstantial.
In closing, I want to be clear, I respect your point of view and I’m glad to have this discussion. It’s clear that you love baseball, but I find your comment a regurgitation of every baseball curmudgeon that claimed the sport was dying. Baseball isn’t dying, it’s thriving. The level of interest and depth of knowledge is expanding exponentially. The level of appreciation and engagement is at an all time high – ranging from youngsters thru millennials to the geriatrics.
Get a life
Born yesterday? Or just clueless?
How about all inter squad games are played with a DH
or none, and we can wean all those AL clubs back into playing real baseball before axing the publicity gimmick once and for all?
Players association would never go for it. The salaries across the board are inflated by the position.
yet another good reason to keep the disease from spreading, no? once you catch it, it’s impossible to cure yourself of it…
Guess the AL is “fake baseball” Shame on the NL for losing Interleague head to head for 12 straight seasons to a “fake” league.
Food fight!
Seriously, nobody used the term “fake baseball” (or anything like it) but you. He called the DH a gimmick, which is exactly the right word for it.
” and we can wean all those AL clubs back into playing real baseball”
He’s clearly saying that the AL is not playing “real baseball”. If it isn’t “real baseball”, then it must be fake.
I took that as a reference to adding gimmicks to baseball. Any number of devices can be imagined that would attract more attention to the game, but some us at least are asking if they actually improve the game.
The DH isn’t a “gimmick.” Having pitchers bat is becoming an embarrassment. Their batting averages aren’t even high enough to play for the Mariners!
Gimmick: a device intended to attract publicity, attention or business.
It’s your dictionary, use it or lose it.
Lol. Burned.
We’re not going to get more millennials to watch baseball with DH in the NL.
No expansion! Just move the teams that have no one at the games Oak and TB
bizjournals.com/orlando/morning_call/2016/01/nfl-o…
I don’t see how MLB can expand when they have current teams with issues. Tampa Bay isn’t going to succeed unless they get out of their current stadium situation. If they can build a stadium in Tampa, they could have a chance to succeed. Otherwise, they need to be moved. Oakland also has stadium issues that need to be dealt with. Then there is the Marlins. They have a new stadium, but don’t draw well. Their attendance is horrible. MLB needs to solve these problems before they even consider expanding
Stadium issues in TB and Oak have nothing to do with expansion, players are breaking in from around the world, talented players too. I want to see Tampa Bay move to the Carolinas and for the A’s to move to Portland in the near future but that is years away. then they could be more creative with the expansion choices whether it be Montreal, Nashville, San Antonio or whatever.
Just move Tampa Bay and Oakland already and be done with it. Both franchises have bad stadiums and cheap ownership. Baseball in Florida was a bad idea to begin with as the whole state is transient (nobody is from there) and have allegiances elsewhere (mostly Yankees or Red Sox).
Oakland is also handcuffed by that old nasty toilet bowl of a stadium (the Coliseum) and cheap cheap cheap ownership. Time for the league to take over both teams and find new owners while moving them elsewhere (say Portland or San Jose).
It’s also time for the league to expand two more franchise and eliminate interleague play and institute a DH in the NL. There is NO reason a pitcher needs to bat given none of them can hit. Just stupid.
Pitchers batting has gotten ridiculous. It’s like having a kicker play QB, or the water boy playing guard on an NBA team. Having pitchers bat is an embarrassment to the game, not to mention the pitchers. It time to do away with it and go to the DH in both leagues.
Watching catchers run has always been ridiculous and an embarrassment to the game, not to mention, to the catchers. We could fix that too.
Designated runner could just stand next to him and take off when he hits the ball.
Now you’re thinking. Lots of guys can hit but not run, and vice-versa. Or field but not hit and vice-versa. So why not have specialists all around? Wouldn’t that make the game so much more exciting?
The DH affords opportunities for the fans to see aging stars, and older, professional hitters during their declining years. It is a good rule for the people who attend games and for youngsters being introduced to the game for the first time. Sub-.200 hitters, which most pitchers are, do not project a professional hitter’s image when standing at the plate. Imagine, if you will, a team fielding 9 such hitters in an actual game. Most park attendees would want their admission payment back. I know I would.
“Both Passan and Crasnick asked Manfred about the possibility of eventually expanding beyond the 30 teams currently in the league, and Manfred spoke in favor of doing so. “We’re a growth business,” he told Passan. “Sooner or later, growth businesses expand. “Having said that, I do not have a timetable. It’s not a short-term project for us.” Crasnick asked, more specifically, about the possibility of expanding internationally, and Manfred told him that there are indeed international sites that “would be intriguing” as the league looked to expand. However, Manfred also noted that expansion is “not a this-week or this-year issue,” rather characterizing the concept as a longer-term goal.”
.
I am so happy that Manfred is in favor of expanding MLB. Some owners might not be but, from the fans perspective, it would allow for the regional realignment of league divisions to enhance competition and foster team rivalries within given regions. Adding two more teams plus re-situating weak franchises would be good for the game. Charlotte, NC and Oklahoma City, OK would be good geographic placements for new teams. And cities in neighboring countries like, Montreal, CA, Vancouver, CA, Mexico City, Mex, Havana, Cuba and, San Juan, Puerto Rico, would really add flavor to the game. Along with realignment changes expanding rosters from 25-man active rosters to 28 would help the game by giving managers more choices during actual games. it might cut down somewhat on injuries too.
Places like Orlando,Montreal,Hawaii,Putero Rico,Monterry,Mexico,Dallas,New Orleans and so on all have Stadium or Domes already in place for a Team to play at and like Portland,OKC just a Minor League Stadium. Carolina Panthers aren’t located in Charlotte. It has to be so Mets and Yankees are in same division.