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MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has made numerous changes to the sport, and he’s eyeing a few more before he calls it a career three years from now.
Manfred, 67, plans to retire when his contract runs out in January 2029, but before he does, he wants to add two more expansion teams. MLB has not expanded since 1997.
“It would be good for us. Fundamentally, a lot of cities that have Major League Baseball, when people want your product, you got to find a way to sell it to them, it’s kind of basic,” Manfred told New York’s WFAN earlier this week.
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Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred announces the Chicago Cubs will host the 2027 All-Star Game at Wrigley Field. (David Banks/Imagn Images)
“Number two, it does a ton for us from a format perspective. You would realign, you would do it along geographic lines, which would alleviate – could alleviate – a ton of the travel burden that’s on players. Remember, we ask our players [to play] 162 times in 186 days… You can eliminate a lot of that travel and make it less burdensome, which would be a great thing in terms of player health and safety.”
Manfred also hinted at potentially going with an NBA or NHL-style format and having Eastern and Western conferences.
“If you realign geographically, you would look more like other sports, where you play up east into the World Series, and west into the World Series, and that 10:00 game on the West Coast that sometimes is a problem for us becomes a primetime game on the West Coast for the two teams that are playing. So there’s a lot of advantages to it.”
Commissioner of Major League Baseball Robert D. Manfred Jr. speaks during the 2024 Grapefruit League Spring Training Media Day at George M. Steinbrenner Field on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Tampa, Florida. (Mike Carlson/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
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Manfred said if MLB were to go to 32 teams, the NFL model of eight divisions with four teams each seems like the likeliest outcome. However, he “would try to keep two-team cities (in) separate” divisions, meaning the New York Yankees and Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers and Angels would still not be division rivals.
The commissioner also said schedule changes have been in the works, including “split seasons” and “in-season tournaments.”
“We do understand that 162 [games] is a long pull. I think the difficulty in accomplishing those kinds of in-season events is that you almost inevitably start talking about fewer regular-season games,” Manfred said.
Baseball purists have not loved the changes Manfred made, but they have gotten people to the ballpark, as attendance has increased in each of the last three seasons — it also should be noted that two minor league ballparks were used this year full time for the Tampa Bay Rays and Athletics. Attendance hadn’t increased in three straight seasons since it did so each year from 2004 to 2007.
Major League Baseball Commissioner Robert D. Manfred Jr. looks on during the MLB Draft presented by Nike at Lumen Field on Sunday, July 9, 2023, in Seattle, Washington. (Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
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One change coming in 2026 is the automated balls and strikes system. Each team gets two challenges apiece to start a game, and if the challenge is successful, the team keeps the challenge to use later in the game. Challenges must be made only by the pitcher, catcher or batter immediately.
Manfred’s pace-of-play emphasis has also shortened nine-inning games from an average of three hours and 10 minutes to 2:36 in 2024 and 2:38 this past season. The Athletics are also moving to Las Vegas in 2028, marking the first time an organization will have moved since the Montreal Expos became the Washington Nationals ahead of the 2005 season.
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