somebody else was engaged in it, we
have chaos. And we’re not going to
have chaos as long as I’m sitting here.”
Paranoia about sign-stealing has
contributed to the slowing down of
play. Manfred said a “longer-term”
solution may come through technology
that changes how catchers give signs
such as a series of lights embedded
in the pitching rubber. In the interim
he is considering closing all in-game
video access except for the replay
monitor, which is manned by MLB
security. “That’s the first path,” he said.
“It is an option.”
ADOPT AN AUTOMATED STRIKE ZONE
Umpires fitted with earpieces will
signal ball or strike based on ball-
tracking technology. Based on minor
league trials, MLB most likely will
have to redefine the strike zone
from its current three-dimensional
pentagon to a two-dimensional plane
at the front of the plate. Such a system
may be adopted as soon as 2022.
“I think we will see it,” Manfred
said. “A hundred percent. I think it will
be good for the game.”
PRIORITIZE THE CBA OVER
A PITCH CLOCK
Manfred once threatened to
implement a pitch clock but backed
down, fearing it would damage labor
relations if players weren’t on board
first. For the most part, they’re not.
“Change on this topic has proved
more difficult than I anticipated,”
Manfred said.
ACCEPT SOME VARIABILITY IN BALL
PERFORMANCE
According to Manfred, MLB will add
“two or three” humidors this year
in ballparks to the existing ones in
Colorado and Arizona “to collect some
data on how changes in humidity
affect [ball] performance.”
A baseball must be hand-sewn, as
no machine has mastered the intricacy
of the last stitch. “The more I think
about it, the more I am convinced
of two things,” he said. “We should
understand as much as we can, but
at the end of the day we have to
accept the reality there is going to be
some variability in the performance
of the baseball.
“What you would see with a non-
handmade product would be shocking
to most baseball fans. It would look
different, it would feel different, it
would play different. I know people
think I have an app here on my phone
and decide how it’s going to perform
in a particular year. If you have a
machine-made baseball, literally
somebody needs to decide every year
how it is going to play.”
EMBRACE GAMBLING—WITH LIMITS
“You may see parlors [in ballpark],
but I don’t think you’re going to see
[betting] windows,” he said. “Maybe
this is Rob Manfred entering his
second term naïve, but I do
believe that the atmosphere at
our ballparks would change with
parimutuel windows.”
As for putting betting information
on broadcasts, he said, “I can see
a separate feed being much more
aggressive in terms of what you
see on the screen for those who
are really interested but that
would be a supplement to our
core family product.”
REVAMP THE MINOR LEAGUE SYSTEM
MLB has proposed cutting the
affiliations of 42 minor league teams
in order to reduce travel and improve
facilities. Opponents of Manfred’s
proposal consider it an affront to
some communities with long minor
league histories (not to mention
recently upgraded stadiums) and a
tactic to keep down aggregate labor
costs amid mounting public pressure
to pay minor leaguers more.
“I don’t think they should blame me
for wanting to have decent working
conditions for our employees,” he
said. “At the end of the day we will
not save one dime. Even if we went
out and got rid of all 42 of them, what
we would have to spend in order to
get the improvements I want in the
existing places it would probably cost
us money. When we’re talking about
profit, I’m not shy about it—this is not
about making more money.”
RESOLVE STADIUM ISSUES
BEFORE EXPANDING
Owners want two expansion teams in
part because scheduling is far easier
with 16-team leagues. But Manfred
says baseball will not expand until the
Athletics and Rays secure plans for
new ballparks—somewhere.
FEBRUARY 2020 21
ROB TRIN
GALI (SEATS); RO
B CARR/GETTY IM
AGES (M
AN
FRED)
Younger fans “like
to think , ‘ This is my
big event,’” Manfred
says. “We need to
take our 81 home
games and make each
one a big event.”
