BALTIMORE -- Rob Manfred will be the next Commissioner of Major League Baseball.The 55-year-old Manfred, currently MLB's chief operating officer, was elected in a vote by representatives of the 30 clubs on Thursday, the final day of the quarterly Owners Meetings. He was a finalist along with Red Sox chairman Tom Werner. MLB's executive vice president of business Tim Brosnan reportedly withdrew before the first vote. "I want to thank Commissioner Selig," said Manfred in his introductory remarks. "He has been a friend and a mentor to me."
A minimum of 23 votes (75 percent) was required. "In the end, the vote was unanimous," said Selig, whose term runs through Jan. 24.Selig has been at the helm for 22 years, during which time there was a sweeping transformation of the game that featured an unprecedented era of labor peace, a sharp rise in revenue and attendance, a string of new ballparks, improved competitive balance, instant replay, expanded playoffs and the creation of MLB Advanced Media.Manfred will be the 10th Commissioner in MLB history. Having previously served MLB as an outside counsel, he joined MLB on a full-time basis in 1998 and became COO in September 2013.Paul Hagen / MLB.com
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
