Editorials

MLB News: Rob Manfred Elected As New Commissioner

[new_royalslider id=”286″]

It was well known that Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig’s term is coming to an end, which created the need to anoint a predecessor.

Selig’s 22-year term will come to an end in January and voting for who will succeed him was held on Thursday. The minimum requirement to be elected was 23 votes as the MLB owners met to place their votes.



After multiple rounds of voting, the owners came to a unanimous decision and elected Rob Manfred, COO of MLB, to be the league’s 10th commissioner.

Manfred had been a protégé of sorts to and had this to say about his beloved friend, via Paul Hagen of MLB.com:

I want to thank Commissioner Selig. He has been a friend and a mentor to me.”

After the first vote, Manfred only had 22 votes, but the group of owners stayed and were focused on drawing a solution. Manfred’s era will begin on Jan. 25, 2015 and he acknowledged the high standard Selig set forth:

I have to say I am tremendously honored by the confidence that the owners showed in me today, electing me to be the 10th Commissioner of baseball. I agree with [Cardinals chairman and head of the search committee] Bill [DeWitt Jr.], I have very big shoes to fill in following Commissioner Selig.”

He is correct in stating that he will have to fill a big void once Selig steps down. MLB has made a valiant effort to move past the days of the steroid-era and escape the negative publicity it brought. They also face the challenge of keeping the sport entertaining so as to engage the younger population that’s gravitated towards other sports.

Manfred also released his statement on being elected, via MLB Public Relations:

The 55 year old was competing against Tim Brosnan, Major League Baseball’s executive vice president of business, and Tom Werner, Boston Red Sox chairman. Manfred was born and raised in New York and graduated from Harvard Law School before embarking on his career in baseball.
[divide] Dodgers Dugout Bubble Parties Are Here To Stay

Staff Writer

Staff Writer features content written by our site editors along with our staff of contributing writers. Thank you for your readership.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button