MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred sat down with Michael Schmidt of the N.Y. TIMES for a wide-ranging interview. Among excepts:
On robot umpires: “I think that the experiment was really successful. I think the owners made a good choice by going with the challenge system first, and I hope that we bring it to the big leagues in short order. It won’t be in 2025. It’d be in 2026. Here’s why I’m uncertain: We could go to the MLBPA and say we want to go in 2026. Given that’s a bargaining year, it would not be shocking for them to say: ‘Let’s deal with this in bargaining. Let’s wait.‘”
If revenue disparity is a “massive problem”: “One hundred percent. Look, think about it this way. We sell entertainment that’s based on competition. If people don’t believe there’s competition, you’ve got a product problem, an existential problem for your business.”
On torpedo bats: “They’re absolutely good for baseball. I believe that issues like the torpedo bat and the debate around it demonstrate the fact that baseball still occupies a unique place in our culture, because people get into a complete frenzy over something that’s really nothing at the end of the day.”
On expansion: “I hope that we have at least picked the cities before I’m done [2029]” (N.Y. TIMES, 4/6).
