Bud Selig served as Major League Baseball's commissioner since 1992 and was finally succeeded on Sunday. Rob Manfred took office after working for the MLB for nearly 17 years.
Manfred became the 10th commissioner in league history on January 25 after being elected on August 14. He previously served as the Executive Vice President of Labor Relations (15 years) and the Chief Operating Officer (since September of 2013). The 55-year-old already penned a letter to the fans and outlined his priorities, including keeping younger audiences engaged and modernizing the game.
However, he has already made a highly criticized decision as well as a questionable proposal: he appointed Mets owner Fred Wilpon to lead the league's finance committee and has suggested eliminating, or at least limiting, the use of defensive shifts. Aside from that, his letter addresses perhaps the league's most pressing issues.
"My top priority is to bring more people into our game -- at all levels and from all communities," Manfred wrote, via this MLB.com article.
"As Commissioner, I will draw closer connections between youth baseball and MLB. I want to inspire children's interest in baseball and help parents and coaches foster that passion ... Another priority for me is to continue to modernize the game without interfering with its history and traditions ... I look forward to tapping into the power of technology to consider additional advancements that will continue to heighten the excitement of the game, improve the pace of play and attract more young people to the game."
Manfred plans to make the game more accessible to children in undeserved areas by expanding Little League, RBI and other youth programs to foster involvement. As for involving youth on a general scale, the league plans to work with college, high school, amateur and youth baseball programs to "help grow our game and ensure that the best players and talent have the opportunity to pursue their dreams."
The aspect of incorporating more technology without compromising history and traditions mostly involves pace of play issues right now. They include the potential use of a 20-second pitch clock, a two-minute break in between innings, a two-and-a-half minute break between pitching changes, a three "time out" limit per game, no-pitch intentional walks, and a rule that will force batters to keep one foot in the batter's box throughout the duration of the at-bat. All of these methods were tested in the Arizona Fall League but will not reach the MLB in 2015.
Manfred also hopes to deal with the lack of offense and bolster the league's "in-park experience and broadcast" for the fans. We'll see how that goes during his tenure.
