Rob Manfred facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Rob Manfred
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Manfred in 2014
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| 10th Commissioner of Baseball | |
| Assumed office January 25, 2015 |
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| Preceded by | Bud Selig |
| Chief Operating Officer of Major League Baseball | |
| In office September 28, 2013 – January 25, 2015 |
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| Preceded by | Bob DuPuy |
| Succeeded by | Tony Petitti |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 28, 1958 Rome, New York, U.S. |
| Spouse | Colleen Manfred |
| Children | 4 |
| Education | Le Moyne College Cornell University (BS) Harvard University (JD) |
| Signature |  |
Robert Dean Manfred Jr. (born September 28, 1958) is an American leader in sports. He is the tenth commissioner of Major League Baseball (MLB). Before this, he was MLB's chief operating officer. Rob Manfred became commissioner on January 25, 2015, taking over from Bud Selig.
Contents
About Rob Manfred
Early Life and Education
Rob Manfred was born on September 28, 1958, in Rome, New York. When he was young, he enjoyed playing tennis, golf, and baseball. By eighth grade, he focused on tennis and played it through college. He went to Rome Free Academy and finished in 1976.
Manfred then attended Le Moyne College, where he played tennis for two seasons. In 1978, he moved to Cornell University. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell in 1980. Later, he earned his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1983. While there, he helped edit the Harvard Law Review.
After law school, Manfred worked for a judge from 1983 to 1984. Then, he joined a law firm called Morgan, Lewis & Bockius. He worked on cases related to labor and employment laws.
Joining Major League Baseball
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In 1987, Rob Manfred started working with Major League Baseball (MLB). He helped with talks between team owners and players. During the baseball strike in 1994–95, he advised the team owners.
He joined MLB full-time in 1998. He was the Executive Vice President of Economics and League Affairs. Manfred helped create MLB's first drug testing agreement with the players' union in 2002. He also represented MLB in talks for new agreements in 2002, 2006, and 2011. In 2013, he led MLB's investigation into a scandal involving performance-enhancing drugs.
At the end of the 2013 season, Commissioner Bud Selig made Manfred the chief operating officer of MLB. This job had been empty since 2010. When Selig announced he would retire, Manfred became a top choice to take his place.
On August 14, 2014, MLB team owners chose Manfred to be the next commissioner. He started his new role on January 25, 2015. He said his main goals were to get more young people interested in baseball, use new technology, make games faster, improve player relationships, and make MLB's business operations stronger.
Changes as Commissioner
As commissioner, Manfred made new rules to speed up games starting in 2015. These rules included batters staying in the batter's box and using time clocks between plays. For the 2017 season, teams could intentionally walk a batter without throwing pitches. Also, the first Little League Classic game was played in August 2017, which many people liked.
Before the 2018 season, Manfred added more rules to speed up play. These included less time during commercial breaks and fewer player visits to the pitcher's mound. He has also talked about adding new teams to MLB. He mentioned cities like Portland, Las Vegas, Charlotte, Nashville, Montreal, and Vancouver as possible locations.
On November 15, 2018, the team owners extended Manfred's contract until the 2024 season. His contract was extended again on July 26, 2023, through the 2028 season. In February 2024, Manfred said he would step down when his contract ends in January 2029.
In 2025, Manfred brought back the tradition of All-Star players wearing their own team jerseys. This changed from 2021, when they wore special American League or National League jerseys.
Houston Astros Investigation
In 2020, Manfred led an investigation into the Houston Astros. It found that the team had used illegal methods to steal signs during the 2017 and part of the 2018 seasons. The Astros won the 2017 World Series that year.
Manfred fined the team $5 million, which was the most allowed. He also took away their first- and second-round draft picks for 2020 and 2021. The Astros' manager and general manager were suspended for the entire 2020 season. No players were punished because they helped with the investigation and were given immunity.
Manfred received some criticism for how he handled this situation. He explained that the players' union would not agree to punish the players. He also said he would not take away the Astros' 2017 World Series title. He explained that this had never happened in baseball before. He also called the World Series trophy a "hunk of metal," which many fans and players did not like. Manfred later apologized for this comment.
In June 2023, Manfred said that giving immunity to the Astros players was "maybe not my best decision ever."
Impact of COVID-19
On March 12, 2020, MLB canceled spring training and delayed the start of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The season was pushed back indefinitely.
After discussions with the players' union, Manfred decided on a 60-game regular season. This season included a larger postseason with sixteen teams, a universal designated hitter rule, and a rule for extra innings starting with a runner on second base. Fans sometimes called this new extra-innings rule the "Manfred Man."
Recognizing Negro Leagues
In December 2020, Manfred announced that MLB would officially recognize seven Negro leagues as major leagues. This added them to the six major league groups already recognized since 1969. This decision meant that statistics and about 3,400 players from 1920 to 1948 were now officially part of MLB history.
On May 28, 2024, MLB added Negro league statistics into its official records. This change meant that Josh Gibson now holds the highest single-season major league batting average at .466 (from 1943) and the highest career batting average at .372.
2021 All-Star Game Move
On April 2, 2021, Manfred announced that the 2021 All-Star Game would be moved from Atlanta. This was a protest against a new voting law passed in Georgia. President Joe Biden and the MLB players' union supported this decision.
The Atlanta Braves team was disappointed by the move. On April 5, Manfred announced that Coors Field in Denver, Colorado, would host the All-Star Game instead.
2021–22 Lockout
Following the end of the league's agreement with players in December 2021, team owners voted to start a lockout. This meant that players could not play or train with their teams until a new agreement was reached. Manfred announced the lockout in a letter to fans.
After many meetings that did not make much progress, MLB set deadlines for negotiations. If no agreement was reached, games would be canceled. The two sides worked hard to reach a deal. On March 1, 2022, Manfred announced that some of the season's first games would be canceled.
Negotiations continued, and Manfred announced another deadline. After more talks, an agreement was finally reached on March 10. The lockout ended, and Manfred announced that opening day would be April 7. The canceled games would be played later in the season so that a full 162-game season could still happen. Manfred said he was relieved the lockout ended and wanted to improve his relationship with the players.
World Baseball Classic 2023
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Rob Manfred has always valued the World Baseball Classic. The 2017 tournament was watched by 3.5 million people in the United States. After a six-year break, many MLB superstars like Mike Trout and Mookie Betts joined Team USA for the 2023 tournament.
The 2023 World Baseball Classic was very popular. It was shown in 163 places around the world. The final game between Japan and Team USA was watched by about 5.2 million Americans. It peaked at 6.5 million viewers as Shohei Ohtani struck out Mike Trout to win the title for Japan.
A game between Japan and Korea in the 2023 tournament had nearly 63 million viewers. This made it one of the most-watched baseball games ever. In Japan, 100 million people watched the WBC, and over 55 million watched the final game.
Oakland Athletics Relocation
The Oakland Athletics baseball team announced on April 19, 2023, that they planned to buy land in Las Vegas for a new stadium. This meant the team intended to move from Oakland, California, where they had been for 57 seasons. Oakland had already lost the Golden State Warriors basketball team and the Oakland Raiders football team.
Many people were upset by this news. Some accused the team and MLB of not being honest in their talks with Oakland officials. In July 2016, Manfred had said he was committed to Oakland as a major league city.
In May 2021, Manfred's office said the Athletics could look into moving. This was because progress on a new stadium in Oakland was slow. In October 2022, Manfred said the team would not have to pay a usual relocation fee if they moved to Las Vegas.
When asked about a "Reverse Boycott Game" in June 2023, where many fans showed up to support the A's staying in Oakland, Manfred made comments that were not well-received. He said there was "no Oakland offer" for a stadium, which Oakland city officials quickly showed was not true by sharing their plans.
Reinstatements
On May 13, 2025, Manfred announced that the lifetime bans on Pete Rose, Shoeless Joe Jackson, and seven other players who had passed away were lifted. This made them eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame. He also said that anyone on the permanently banned list would have their bans lifted after they passed away. This decision came after a request from Pete Rose's family.
Personal Life
Rob Manfred grew up in Central New York and is a fan of the New York Yankees. His father, Rob Sr., led a company division in Rome, New York. His mother, Phyllis, was a school teacher. He has an older sister and a younger brother.
Manfred is married to Colleen, and they have four children: Megan, Michael, Jane, and Mary Clare.
See also
In Spanish: Rob Manfred para niños
