Rob Manfred and Tony Clark on Rule Changes, Robo-Umps, Expansion, An International Draft And More
Image credit: Rob Manfred (Photo by Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
SEATTLE — Commissioner Rob Manfred and MLB Players Association executive director Tony Clark delivered their annual addresses to the Baseball Writers Association of America this week at the Sheraton Grand Seattle Hotel. The two touched on a number of topics, including this year’s rule changes, the automated ball-strike system, expansion and the possibility of an international draft.
Here are some of Manfred’s and Clark’s notable statements on the top issues facing baseball. Statements have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
RULE CHANGES
Prior to Manfred’s address, league officials provided information sheets detailing the effects of this year’s rule changes. Among the highlights:
- The average nine-inning game is 26 minutes shorter with the introduction of the pitch clock, dropping from 3 hours, 4 minutes in 2022 to 2:38 in 2023.
- Stolen base attempts have increased from 1.4 per game in 2022 to 1.8 per game in 2023 with the limitations on the number of pickoffs. Success rates have increased from 75.4% to 79.4% and the number of pickoff attempts per game has dropped from 6.0 to 4.9.
- The batting average on balls in play (BABIP) for lefthanded hitters has increased 14 points, from .283 in 2022 to .297 in 2023, with the shift restrictions. Lefties have seen their BABIP on pulled ground balls and pulled line drives increase by 40 points and 33 points, respectively.
- Attendance has increased 8.1% from 2022 and the average age of a ticket buyer has gotten three years younger, from 46 to 43.
Manfred’s opening statement highlighted these points in declaring the rules changes a success.
“The biggest thank you goes to the players,” Manfred said. “I understand how important routines are to players. When you say to a professional athlete, ‘You’ve done this a certain way your whole life and we’re going to change it because we’re going to have a rule change,’ that’s a big deal. Our players, the game’s players, have adjusted quickly and effectively.
“Another group that has done a hell of a job with these rule changes are umpires. We had a very challenging year this year because we had 10 new people on staff. That’s a huge number for us in terms of new people in a single year. Combine that with probably the most aggressive set of rule changes in the history of the game. They took on all these new responsibilities and they’ve done a heck of a job in terms of managing the game, avoiding confrontation and using discretion in places where it’s necessary and appropriate to avoid problems. So, they deserve a lot of credit as well.”
During his address, Clark voiced a desire for “a few more seconds” to be added to the pitch clock for the postseason. Manfred said he would hold discussions with Clark and the players about altering the rules for the postseason, but noted that he and the league are satisfied with the status quo.
“Obviously, we don’t want a postseason game decided based on a violation,” Manfred said. “I understand it’s a possibility … In general, I think you ought to play the postseason the way you play the regular season. There’s exceptions. I’m open-minded on that topic. But in general, I do believe that.
“And secondly, we are comfortable with the way the clock and the violations, particularly late in games and high-leverage situations that we’re watching, have been managed. Again, hats off to our umpires in terms of using their discretion to avoid the kind of problems that I admit exist as a possibility.”
League officials noted there have been an average of 7.4 seconds remaining on the pitch clock with runners on and 6.6 seconds remaining with the bases empty when pitches are delivered, suggesting additional time is not needed. The rate of pitch clock violations has dropped from .87 per game at the start of the season to .23 per game at the all-star break, and 60% of games have had no pitch clock violations at all.
THE AUTOMATED BALL-STRIKE SYSTEM
MLB has continued to experiment with the use of an automated ball-strike system, colloquially known as “robo-umps,” in the minor leagues. At Triple-A this season, the first three games of all series feature balls and strikes being called by the ABS. The final three games of each series feature the challenge system, where umpires call balls and strikes but players can challenge calls.
So far, the challenge system has emerged as the favored option among players and coaches. MLB used the challenge system in the Futures Game and saw noticeable fan engagement in balls and strikes being challenged.
“In terms of the reaction in the minor leagues,” Manfred said, “people are more comfortable with the challenge system than the full ABS.”
Manfred noted the league is still working on ABS technology, including figuring out what the “optimal” strike zone entails. He acknowledged that thus far, the challenge system appears to be the better of the two options from the league’s perspective.
“I think if we had to make a decision today, which we don’t have to, that there would be more support for at least beginning with the challenge system,” Manfred said. “Not making the judgment that we wouldn’t go all the way. I think that if we were going to make a decision today, that would be the league’s position. Again, that issue is ultimately going to be resolved in the Joint Committee.”
EXPANSION
Manfred has consistently stated that expansion will not take place until the A’s and Rays get new stadiums. With the A’s beginning the process of relocating Las Vegas and the Rays engaged in formal discussions for a new stadium at the Tropicana Field site, Manfred acknowledged expansion is on the league’s mind and detailed some of the steps required for it to happen.
“We need to get past Tampa and Oakland, to get them resolved,” he said. “I think, I hope, pretty shortly thereafter, we would put together an expansion committee and start talking internally first about the issues associated with expansion.
“You’re talking about diminishing the central revenue available to each of the 30 (teams), making it 32. You’ve got to figure out the impact of that, and then you’ve got to talk about what you would be looking in terms of an expansion fee in order to offset that. And then, I do think if it’s within my vision of expansion, you need to think about what you’re trying to accomplish for the sport from a competitive perspective and deal with those issues before you get into what market.”
A’S RELOCATION TO LAS VEGAS
The A’s have reached an agreement to build a 30,000 seat, $1.5 billion stadium on the site of the Tropicana Hotel along the Las Vegas Strip. Last month, the Nevada State Legislature approved the use of up to $380 million in public funds for the construction of the stadium.
While the stadium site has been determined and public funds approved, Manfred said the A’s have not yet completed their relocation application.
“They have begun to submit information related to their relocation application,” Manfred. “It is not complete at this point.”
Notably, Manfred revealed the A’s have not formally specified their plans for where they will play while their new stadium is being built. The A’s lease with the Oakland Coliseum expires after the 2024 season. The new Las Vegas Stadium is not set to open until 2027 at the earliest.
While public reports have indicated the A’s could temporarily play at Las Vegas Ballpark, home of their Triple-A affiliate, the team has not officially presented the league’s relocation committee with specifics on where they will play.
“Our relocation guidelines actually spell out pretty clearly what needs to be included in your application,” Manfred said. “One of the things you have to include is what’s going to happen during the interim period … They have not made a submission on that topic yet. It’s really not appropriate for me to get into speculation process. The first look at that is going to be a relocation committee’s look.”
MLB established a relocation committee in June headed by Brewers chairman Mark Attanasio. Phillies CEO John Middleton and Royals CEO John Sherman round out the three-person committee that will evaluate the A’s relocation proposal. After the committee receives the A’s proposal and issues its recommendation, the 30 owners will then vote on the A’s move, with 75% approval required.
RSN’S AND STREAMING
The bankruptcy of Diamond Sports, which owned the local broadcast rights to 14 teams under the Bally Sports brand, has fundamentally shifted the media landscape in MLB and projects to cause further disruptions. MLB took over the production and distribution of Padres games in May after Diamond failed to make its rights payment to the club. Diamond has a rights payment due to the Reds on Saturday and has only paid the Guardians through July. It is currently attempting to renegotiate its deal with the D-backs.
Manfred said MLB has collected 94% of the rights fees that have come due and is already “well into the five figures” in subscriptions to watch Padres games.
“Our goal with respect to the RSNs is simple,” Manfred said. “We saw well before the Diamond bankruptcy, we were kind of on the topic of that part of the media landscape changing. Our goal from the beginning has been to make a transition from the current situation into a new model that did two things: Number one, increase the availability of our games to fans. And number two, to minimize any financial disruption for clubs.
“In addition, we have backstopped clubs to make sure that there isn’t some unforeseen alteration in their revenue. All that’s designed to put clubs in a position to not have disruption when it comes to the most important side of their business—putting a good team on the field.”
Clark said that if the media revenue structure changes, the MLBPA will demand to be a part of the negotiations to determine how those revenues are distributed.
“When we negotiate our CBA … there are dynamics around the revenue that comes into the game and how it’s otherwise used. It comes into how much the distributed profits of the RSNs and those media contracts become a part of the revenue sharing conversation.
“Everything that’s heavily negotiated is against the backdrop of what certain assumptions are. Any changes to that require a conversation—a formal conversation at the bargaining table. So, we’ll have to see what it is that manifests itself here. It’s not as simple as suggesting revenue is going to be centralized and that’s going to be good. That’s not how this is going to work. If there are going to be fundamental changes, those fundamental changes to our existing system are going to have to be negotiated.”
MINOR LEAGUE PLAYER UNIONIZATION
Minor league players officially joined the MLBPA in September and ratified a historic first CBA in March that guaranteed higher pay, guaranteed housing, NIL rights and year-round compensation, among other benefits. The changes were the most significant in the modern history of the minor leagues for players and represented a new era of player rights for non 40-man roster players.
Clark, who spent parts of six seasons in the minor leagues before going onto a 15-year major league career, spoke about the MLBPA’s overarching goal in bringing minor leaguers into the union.
“It was important to improve the conditions and well-being of the minor leaguers and we were able to do a lot of that during the course of this organizing and first CBA negotiation,” Clark said. “I believe our game and the story you can tell the next generation as a result of guys having a union and being protected from day one is a tangible one.”
In terms of specific initiatives, Clark highlighted offering greater assistance to Latin American players in particular as a top priority for the union.
“What we’re doing is an extension of what we’ve already done on the Major League side, but we need obviously broaden the scope of that program to provide support not just 1200, but an additional 5500 guys,” Clark said. “Despite the fact that that upwards of 26% (of players on MLB rosters), give or take, are from Latin countries, the dynamic and percentage on the minor league side is much higher than that.
“Being able to provide support regardless of where you come from on major league side is important. Doing so with an additional 5500 becomes imperative. So whether that is mental health support, whether it is career development both during and after, whether it is things that we’re working on now in regard to literacy and decision-making for players, all of that becomes very much a part of the conversation in ways that, prior to them being recognized, was solely focused on the major league guys.”
INTERNATIONAL DRAFT
MLB and the MLBPA engaged in negotiations for an international draft last season as a spillover from the last CBA, with the league offering the elimination of draft-pick compensation for free agents in return.
The sides exchanged proposals on an international draft but could not come to terms. Clark said that despite the union’s willingness to negotiate, he is not in favor of an international draft.
“We don’t believe an international draft is necessary,” Clark said. “We believe, we proposed this over multiple rounds of bargaining, that attention being given to some of the challenges that otherwise exist would be beneficial, such that pounding the pavement on ‘Draft, draft, draft’ is not necessarily the answer.”
Clark has previously expressed his opposition to all drafts, most notably at his BBWAA address in Cleveland in 2019. Clark reiterated that stance in this year’s address.
“I’ve gone on the record and I’ve had no problem offering it here: I’m not a fan of the draft,” Clark said. “Not an international draft, not a domestic one. I’m not a fan of drafts, despite the fact that I was drafted in 1990.
“So I say that to say there are things that we’ve been more than willing to talk about in an effort to address any number of challenges that exist on the international landscape, and there are a number of them. We made those proposals this last round as a result of engaging our players and talking through what might be of benefit. It was a big jump for us to make, meaning the players to make, to actually slide across a proposal on an international draft, but as I said, we didn’t find common ground on it.
“The idea that we’re simply going to drop a draft in the international markets without certain things being addressed, including the value proposition associated, including the infrastructure around it that would otherwise need to be in place to make sure that those players are protected … All of those things were part of what we proposed back, and there wasn’t much interest in engaging on the things that we thought needed to be a part of that equation. As with any number of issues, it’s going to take two to tango.”
FOREIGN SUBSTANCES
MLB has continued its crackdown on the use of foreign substances in the majors while simultaneously experimenting with a new, pre-tacked ball in the minors. Three pitchers—Mets righthanders Max Scherzer and Drew Smith and Yankees righthander Domingo German—have received 10-game suspensions this season for violating the league’s rules prohibiting the use of foreign substances. Scherzer vociferously denied using a foreign substance following his ejection, but Manfred said the instances where suspensions have been handed down have been clear violations.
“With respect to sticky substances, I would say the suspensions that we have had would fall into the category of clear to egregious violations,” Manfred said. “I understand that feeling someone’s hand is inherently subjective. I think this is an area where our umpires, again, with a difficult topic, have shown great judgment and discretion. I think in gray areas players have definitely been given the benefit of the doubt.”
MLB is experimenting with a prototype, pre-tacked ball in the Double-A Southern League this season developed by the materials science company Dow, formerly known as Dow Chemical. The ball has led to a marked increase in the spin rates and carry on four-seam fastballs in the league, making the ball more difficult for pitchers to control and for batters to hit. The rate of walks, hit batters, wild pitches and strikeouts have all increased in the Southern League while the league-wide batting average has dropped 15 points compared to last season.
“In terms of a long-term answer, we continue to work with the people at Dow Chemical on developing a tacky ball,” Manfred said. It would literally eliminate all, well not all, but many of the variables in the current process. It would come out of a sealed foil pouch at the ballpark. No individual mudding the ball.
“Like everything in baseball when you inch towards a solution. You figure out another problem. The baseball, if we get there with the Dow people, would be a pearl, right? A pure white baseball. I think if you take hitters and pitchers … and ask them what they think of a pure white baseball, you’re gonna find out that it’s a pretty controversial topic. So not only do we have the science that we’re continuing to work on, but we’re gonna have to get over that sort of policy issue of ‘Is a pure white baseball a good thing?’ ”
GAMBLING
Sports betting is now legal in 34 states and Washington D.C., a growing trend that has led to concerns about the influence of gambling in baseball.
MLB rules forbid any player, umpire, club or league official or employee from betting on baseball games. They are also forbidden from placing bets with illegal bookmakers. Baseball personnel may only bet on other sports in jurisdictions where sports betting is legal.
Manfred said he sees no conflict with the restrictions on gambling and the league’s pursuit of a Las Vegas franchise. He also said he sees no conflict with MLB’s multi-year agreement with FanDuel that made the sportsbook operator an official partner of the league.
“I think baseball’s rules, procedures and monitoring activities surrounding gambling are best in class,” Manfred said. “Always have been because of the history of the game. And it’s kind of number one priority for us with respect to protecting the integrity of the game. I don’t see Las Vegas as any different than any other city in America. Many other cities now have sports books that are accessible.”
Asked about Pete Rose’s lifetime ban for betting on baseball, Manfred said nothing has changed despite baseball’s embrace of gambling revenues.
“I think that for us, we’ve always approached the issue of gambling on one of the propositions that players and other people who are in a position to influence the outcome of the game are going to be subject to a different set of rules than everyone else in the world,” Manfred said. “Pete Rose violated what is sort of rule one in baseball. And the consequences of that are clear in the rule. And we continue to abide by our own rules. It’s just the rules are different for players.”
