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MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has upset the baseball purists, but the stats prove that his sweeping changes worked.
Ahead of the 2023 season, MLB implemented a pitch timer, enlarged bases, and shift restrictions. As the average length of games is down more than a half hour since its peak of 3:11 in 2021, attendance has increased.
Attendance has increased in each of the last two years. It was the first time since 2011 and 2012 that attendance grew in back-to-back seasons.
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Alex Rodriguez and MLB Commissioner Robert D. Manfred Jr. look on prior to Game 3 of the 2024 World Series presented by Capital One between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Monday, Oct. 28, 2024 in New York, New York. (Dustin Satloff/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
The World Series (granted, two huge markets between the Yankees and Dodgers) had its most viewers since 2017. But MLB on FOX viewership is up 10% compared to last year.
Manfred has had his fair share of questionable moves, most notably letting the Houston Astros slide (on paper) for stealing signs in 2017 and calling the World Series trophy “a piece of metal.” He also undersaw the sport’s first work stoppage since 1994, and another lockout is looming after next season.
At the end of the day, though, money talks, and Manfred has raked it in for the league.
Because there are now more eyeballs on baseball, Alex Rodriguez said he is “a big Rob Manfred fan.”
Hank Aaron Award winners pose for a photo with Hall of Famer Hank Aaron and Major League Baseball Commissioner Robert D. Manfred Jr. prior to Game 2 of the 2019 World Series between the Washington Nationals and the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2019 in Houston, Texas. (Alex Trautwig/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
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“I think he deserves a lot of credit. Singlehandedly, with the changes he’s made the last two or three years to really save our game, he probably belongs in Cooperstown,” Rodriguez said on “The Herd” Tuesday ahead of the All-Star Game.
It’s quite a compliment from Rodriguez, as Manfred played a significant role in Rodriguez’s suspension for the entire 2014 season due to performance-enhancing drugs — Manfred led the investigation into the Biogenesis scandal.
Manfred has also implemented Negro League stats to count toward MLB numbers, revamped the World Baseball Classic and reinstated Pete Rose, “Shoeless” Joe Jackson and others.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred speaks during the first round of the MLB baseball draft Sunday, July, 13, 2025 in Atlanta. (Mike Stewart/AP Photo)
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Currently, the 2025 attendance is on pace to be lower than last year’s and the year prior, but it should be noted that the rest of the summer needs to be played out, and two teams are playing in minor league stadiums, hurting their attendance numbers.
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