ROGERS -- Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred touched on a wide range of topics Wednesday in a keynote address during the 8th Circuit Judicial Conference luncheon.
Manfred, who was appointed to professional baseball's highest office in January 2015, spoke about MLB's relationship with Cuba, fan safety, MLB expansion, youth in baseball and the new slide rule among other topics.
In March, the Tampa Bay Rays played an exhibition game in Havana against the Cuban national team. The game was played while President Barack Obama was also touring in the country, the first U.S. president to visit the island in decades. Manfred said he hopes one day Cuban baseball players will be able to freely leave the country and play Major League Baseball, like players from the Dominican and other Latin America countries.
"We're very interested in Cuba and resolving the player immigration issues, and once we're over that hump, we do believe that Cuba presents an opportunity for the game to grow internationally," Manfred said. "We considered the game this year to be a great success. Whenever you play someplace for the first time, it has its challenges, but it really captured people's attention."
Manfred equated the process of how Cuban players arrive in the U.S. to "human trafficking." Cuban baseball players often flee the country and leave their families on daring escapes that put their lives in jeopardy, and the players cannot return. Manfred said the players usually flee to a neighboring country and establish residency then make their way to the U.S. where they are free to try out and sign with any of the MLB organizations.
Recently the commissioner addressed the issue of expansion from the current 30 teams to 32, which would create more ease of scheduling with an even number of teams in both the National and American leagues. Among the cities that will likely be considered for an MLB team would be Las Vegas. Professional teams have shied away from Las Vegas because of legalized gambling, but recently the Oakland Raiders announced a possible move there, which could lead other professional sports teams to follow suit.
"I'm not closed to the idea of Las Vegas," Manfred said. "It would be on a considerable list (of expansion hopefuls). There would be a number of cities on it, but certainly Las Vegas is one that would be on that list."
Manfred is keenly aware of the rising number of arm-related injuries to young baseball players, and the commissioner has set in motion a program to educate youth coaches on injury prevention.
Major League Baseball has partnered with USA Baseball to create a program called Smart Pitch designed to help youth coaches learn appropriate instruction, Manfred said.
Youth participation is something Manfred believes strongly in, and the commissioner said MLB will continue to strive to bring the national pastime to inner cities and underserved areas through programs such as Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI).
"We have MLB academies which are springing up all around the country," Manfred said. "Mr. (David) Glass is embarking on building one in Kansas City that will be state-of-the-art. Our umbrella for youth baseball, Play Ball, had events in 140 cities last year, and this year we hope to expand to 200 cities."
Fan safety is also a topic of concern for Manfred, and this year organizations were encouraged to increase safety netting farther down the first and third base lines to protect fans from foul balls and bats. Manfred said he is pleased with the way clubs responded to the measure.
"I think the thing that is important to remember is, like everything in life, the issue of netting is a balance," he said. "On the one hand, you have the crucial issue of fan safety, and on the other hand, you have a lot of fans who prefer to see the game without a net in front of them, and prefer to have that direct access to players.
"So we try to strike an appropriate balance where people are safe without interfering with their full enjoyment of the game."
Manfred also touched on the new slide rule that went into effect this season, admitting there has been an adjustment period, but the intent of the rule is player safety around the second base bag.
Sports on 05/05/2016