On August 14, Rob Manfred was elected by team owners to succeed Bud Selig as the next commissioner of Major League Baseball. He's now set as he takes over for Selig in January.
MLB team owners gave Manfred a five-year term on Thursday and he has big shoes to fill. Selig has been commissioner of the league since 1992 and has been an instrumental figure in baseball over his term. Manfred has worked for the MLB since 1998, so he isn't too far behind.
Manfred was named Selig's successor after defeating Boston Red Sox chairman Tom Werner in the owners' election, which was the first in 46 years. Because the league mandates the winner of the election to receive 23 of the 30 votes, it took six ballots and over 4 ½ hours to officially name Manfred the new commissioner back in August.
Although it turned out to be a process, Manfred's experience cannot be doubted. The soon-to-be 10th commissioner of the MLB served as the Executive Vice President of Labor Relations for 15 years before he was named the league's Chief Operating Officer on September 28, 2013. During his time with the league, Manfred led the negotiations for the 2002, 2006 and 2011 collective bargaining agreements. His relationship with the players' union will be crucial in his role as commissioner.
Manfred has already made it known that improving pace of play will be a priority when he assumes office in January. That has already begun as the league tested a pitch clock and other time-sensitive implementations during this year's Arizona Fall League, which ended on Saturday. The methods proved to be effective, but the league will still review every aspect of the experiment conducted in the AFL.
"Pace of game is not a new issue for us. Commissioner Selig has been on this issue for years," Manfred told Sports Illustrated. "All of the [commissioner] candidates talked about pace of game. I think it is going to be a big area of emphasis in order to keep baseball competitive in the entertainment market."
His term will end after the 2019 season, which means he'll be commissioner when the league enters labor negotiations with the players in 2016. Manfred will certainly be ready for that challenge.
