Rob Manfred Named MLB Commissioner

Rob Manfred has been elected commissioner of Major League Baseball, the 10^th person to hold the position in the league’s history. He will replace Bud Selig, who has served in the role since 1998.

Manfred is the chief operating officer of MLB and has been with the league since 1998, overseeing areas such as labor relations, baseball operations and administration. Before taking on the COO role in 2013, Manfred previously served as executive vice-president of labor relations. Manfred beat out two other candidates for the position: Boston Red Sox Chairman Tom Werner and MLB Executive Vice-President of Business Tim Brosnan.

“There’s no doubt in my mind he has the training, the temperament and experience to be a very successful commissioner,” Selig said.

Manfred overcame what was initially a split vote between him and Werner. Brosnan reportedly dropped out of consideration before the final voting, which took place at an owners meeting in Baltimore. The final vote was 30-0, Selig said.

“I think the most striking thing for me over the last couple of days is how passionate the owners are about the way the game is played and the business of baseball,” Manfred said. “I think there’s a huge amount of consensus about certain types of efforts we’ll be taking to move the game forward,” noting instant replay as an example.