SEATTLE — Rob Manfred knows he inherited a pretty great situation when he became the commissioner of Major League Baseball after Bud Selig’s retirement.
As Manfred will happily outline for you, from attendance numbers to competitive balance to the ever increasing value of teams, baseball is in many ways as healthy as it has ever been. Even so, MLB’s new commissioner, who was at Safeco Field Wednesday, isn’t content to stick with the status quo and let baseball operate on cruise control.
“Even when things are good, you can’t stand still,” Manfred said. “Nothing in this world today stands still and stays where it is, so what we’re trying to do is make modest refinements to what we think is a great product that will keep it popular over a long period of time.”
It’s still very early in Manfred’s tenure, but Major League Baseball appears to be in good hands because its new leader sees the long game and isn’t afraid to shake things up a bit to ensure baseball continues to thrive in a continuously evolving sports landscape.
Whether it’s the new pace-of-play rules or enhancing the game, as well as fan experience, with technology or ongoing discussions about ways to help hitters in this current era of pitching dominance, Manfred won’t make rash decisions, but he is open to change. This open-mindedness is in part designed to make the game better for its current fans, but even more importantly, in what is one of Manfred’s biggest points of emphasis early in his tenure as commissioner, the goal is to make the game more attractive to young fans.
Manfred, who is 56, grew up in an era when baseball was the undisputed king of the American team sports landscape, but he realizes that is no longer the case. From football to basketball to soccer and even lacrosse, kids have more options than ever when it comes to sports participation and fandom. If the game is going to be as healthy 20 years from now as it is in its current state, baseball needs to appeal to the kids who will become the paying customers down the road.
“I think youth baseball is a really important topic for us,” Manfred said. “Participation of youth is a key to making sure the game is passed on to the next generation. There are a lot of indicators of the strength of youth baseball. … There are a lot of positives out there in the youth market. Having said that, the youth participation market is a very competitive space.
“I’m 56 years old. It used to be that baseball was the sport you played in the spring; my kids had 10 choices as to what they could play. And not only did they have 10 choices as to what they could play in the spring, they had coaches barking at them that they ought to be playing one sport or the other year round. That makes that space tremendously competitive.”
In addition to focusing on youth participation in the game, Manfred’s other big goal is to make sure kids are getting to the ballpark.
“The age at which somebody goes to the ballpark the first time makes a dramatic difference in how much baseball they consume as an adult,” Manfred said. “We are strong in the parent and grandparent demographic groups, and we are going to be working very hard to make sure that the demographic where we’re strong, parents and grandparents, do what our parents and grandparents did for us — take their children and grandchildren to the ballpark early and often to make sure that the game gets passed on.”
In the name of insuring a bright future for baseball, of making it a game that will appeal to kids whose entertainment options continue to grow while their attention spans continue to shrink, Manfred is open to change.
He likes the idea of an international draft somewhere down the road; he’s trying to speed up games; and he even considered, then “did a hasty retreat,” on the idea of limiting defensive shifts in order to promote offense. While that specific idea led to significant backlash, the fact that he is open to discussing some outside-the-box ideas, and willing to sit down with every team this spring to get player feedback is encouraging.
Baseball is thriving now, and Manfred’s openness to change and new ideas could be just what the game needs in order to continue to thrive for years to come.
“I hope when people think about Major League Baseball and the commissioner’s office, that they come to have a view that we’re interested in receiving input from our fans, that we’re open to receiving that input, that we’re open to considering new ideas,” Manfred said. “The shift thing is a great example. I received a ton of input and response to sort of an off-hand comment I made. Some of it did question my intellect, and that’s OK, I can live with that, but most of it was really, really thoughtful and actually advanced our thinking in the office about what the effect of making a change in that particular area would be. I see it all as healthy from my prospective.”
Herald Columnist John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
