Rob Manfred is the new MLB Commissioner

[caulfield12]

Ugh, if Werner gets it I will be sick.

 

 

But isn't he Reinsdorf's guy?

 

Not a fan of The Cosby Show, lol?

 

 

22-8 for Manfred on the 1st vote.

 

Seems to be academic.

Edited August 14, 2014 by caulfield12

[justBLAZE]

Manfred is the new comish.

[BaconOnAStick]

Ehhhhhh

[Soxfest]

Manfred is the new comish.

No doubt he would get job since this all started.

[LittleHurt05]

Anyone know why Jerry was anti - Manfred?

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

I read an article that was pretty much scathing about Jerry, saying that he was pretty much bullying everyone in to picking Werner and Werner was his boy. Also sounds like he was dogging Mansfred and talking s*** about him. So I wonder if this Manfred guy winning is bad news for us while Jerry is still our owner.

[caulfield12]

One baseball executive who attended the meeting, speaking on condition of anonymity to the Associated Press because details of the 4 1/2-hour session were not to be divulged, said Manfred was elected on approximately the sixth ballot. The initial vote was 20-10 for Manfred, three short of the required three-quarters majority.

 

His total increased to 21 on the second ballot and 22 on the third. While teams put written ballots into envelopes, keeping their choices secret, from team official speeches it was evident that the Tampa Bay Rays' Stuart Sternberg and Milwaukee Brewers' Mark Attanasio likely switched their votes, the source said. (interesting that Milwaukee franchise wouldn't be for Selig's choice from the start)

 

Manfred's total dropped to 20, then increased to 22 before a dinner break. He got the needed 23rd vote on the next ballot, apparently from the Washington Nationals. Owners then made the final vote unanimous. The source said that it appeared the Arizona Diamondbacks, Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Angels, Oakland Athletics and Toronto Blue Jays had been the final holdouts.

 

"What I said to the owners when I came down after the vote is that I didn't really want to even think about who was on what side of what issue at points in the process," Manfred said, "and that my commitment to the owners was that I would work extremely hard day in and day out to convince all 30 of them that they had made a great decision today."

 

White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf and Toronto president Paul Beeston spoke out strongly against Manfred, the source told the AP. Angels owner Arte Moreno joined Reinsdorf in leading Werner's support. Other teams have said Reinsdorf wanted a commissioner who would take a harsher stance in labor negotiations.

 

"While Rob may not have been my initial choice for commissioner, the conclusion of a very good process was to name Rob as the person best positioned to help baseball endure and grow even stronger for the next generation of fans," Reinsdorf said in a statement. "Today's decision was reached by 30 owners voting separately but speaking, in the end, with one voice."

 

Werner, who made his career as a television executive, was preferred by those who wanted an owner to follow Selig, who was the longtime head of the Brewers when he took over MLB.

 

"I think the last two days have been productive because we've been able to share a number of ideas about the game and how to improve it and modernize it," Werner said. "I think that Rob agrees with many of the ideas that I espoused, and I am very confident that we are going to see some things, such as improved pace of play."

 

Brosnan quit the race when it became apparent he likely had one vote: Cincinnati.

 

"I cared too much about the game and really wanted the process to be as efficient as it could be," he said.

 

 

www.espn.com

Edited August 15, 2014 by caulfield12

[Kyyle23]

How many Manfred Mann jokes do you think have been made since the vote last night? I'm pretty sure most of them have a form of "blinded by the light" in them

[caulfield12]

Where's the EARTH BAND, Roberto?

[Balta1701]

Baseball seems like it's in good shape with revenues, league size, growth rates, new TV contracts, and it has had 2 decades of labor peace. I'm not sure "taking a harder line in labor negotiations" is something I want to see from MLB's ownership. They've got a good thing going overall, especially now that they've got the draft-rigging figured out. About the only thing they'd genuinely fight over, as far as I can tell, is the size of each side's pie slice.

[caulfield12]

If twenty years from now, the average age of a baseball fan is closer to 33-43 and not 53-73, then the commissioner will have pulled off an amazing trick.

 

Gammons said it this morning....about baseball being too focused on promoting the history of the game and ties to the past, while NBA and NFL is all about superstars and action figures.

 

With Jeter leaving the game, guys like Trout, Stanton, Puig, Kershaw, Abreu, Sale, McCutchen, Cabrera, etc., have to be promoted much more effectively and strategically.

 

A lot of the momentum from the World Baseball Classic has stopped....how are they going to continue to build up revenue streams from Mexico/Caribbean/Venezuela? Brazil? Colombia? Central America?

 

With the distance to China, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan being a prohibitive hindrance, how to continue to expand in the Asian market, besides just simulcasting games over satellite?

 

Will Million Dollar Arm move the meter AT ALL in India?

[ptatc]

How many Manfred Mann jokes do you think have been made since the vote last night? I'm pretty sure most of them have a form of "blinded by the light" in them

Springsteen! Can't let that go without a reference to the Boss. Especially since baseball has a new Boss but he isn't the Boss.

[ptatc]

If twenty years from now, the average age of a baseball fan is closer to 33-43 and not 53-73, then the commissioner will have pulled off an amazing trick.

 

Gammons said it this morning....about baseball being too focused on promoting the history of the game and ties to the past, while NBA and NFL is all about superstars and action figures.

 

With Jeter leaving the game, guys like Trout, Stanton, Puig, Kershaw, Abreu, Sale, McCutchen, Cabrera, etc., have to be promoted much more effectively and strategically.

 

A lot of the momentum from the World Baseball Classic has stopped....how are they going to continue to build up revenue streams from Mexico/Caribbean/Venezuela? Brazil? Colombia? Central America?

 

With the distance to China, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan being a prohibitive hindrance, how to continue to expand in the Asian market, besides just simulcasting games over satellite?

 

Will Million Dollar Arm move the meter AT ALL in India?

Unfortunately, I think this is the way they need to go. I'm old and I prefer the team promotion as opposed to the individual, however for marketing and the younger generations, this seems to be the preference.

[greg775]

Baseball seems like it's in good shape with revenues, league size, growth rates, new TV contracts, and it has had 2 decades of labor peace. I'm not sure "taking a harder line in labor negotiations" is something I want to see from MLB's ownership. They've got a good thing going overall, especially now that they've got the draft-rigging figured out. About the only thing they'd genuinely fight over, as far as I can tell, is the size of each side's pie slice.

Great post.

Labor peace means owners giving player "almost" everything they want. Taking a harder line will not work, not in baseball. Baseball has one shot at the owners getting more of what they want: a multi-year stoppage. 3, 4, 5 years and they might be able to re-do the entire system. That's too long a period. Will never happen.

[southsider2k5]

Jon Heyman ‏@JonHeymanCBS 25m25 minutes ago

 

icymi: owners expected today to approve 5-year contract for rob manfred to be commissioner. http://cbsprt.co/1p1PsA0

[southsider2k5]

T.J. Quinn ‏@TJQuinnESPN 5h5 hours ago

 

Asked MLB official why Reinsdorf fought Manfred's election. A: "Because Rob wouldn't go down there to meet him and smoke his f----- cigars."

[Texsox]

If twenty years from now, the average age of a baseball fan is closer to 33-43 and not 53-73, then the commissioner will have pulled off an amazing trick.

 

Gammons said it this morning....about baseball being too focused on promoting the history of the game and ties to the past, while NBA and NFL is all about superstars and action figures.

 

With Jeter leaving the game, guys like Trout, Stanton, Puig, Kershaw, Abreu, Sale, McCutchen, Cabrera, etc., have to be promoted much more effectively and strategically.

 

A lot of the momentum from the World Baseball Classic has stopped....how are they going to continue to build up revenue streams from Mexico/Caribbean/Venezuela? Brazil? Colombia? Central America?

 

With the distance to China, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan being a prohibitive hindrance, how to continue to expand in the Asian market, besides just simulcasting games over satellite?

 

Will Million Dollar Arm move the meter AT ALL in India?

 

Baseball still has the divide between the have and the have not teams. There are too many teams that leave sprig training without a chance in the world of making the playoffs. What are you going to the game to see? Superstars and the game itself.