Rob Manfred Elected Next MLB Commissioner

It was announced today that Rob Manfred will succeed previous MLB Commissioner, Bud Selig in January.

Manfred was a labor lawyer who has worked for Major League Baseball since 1998, beat out Boston Red Sox chairman Tom Werner in the first contested vote for a new commissioner in 46 years. The third candidate, MLB executive vice president of business Tim Brosnan, dropped out just before the start of voting.

“I am tremendously honored by the confidence owners showed in me today,” Manfred said. “I have very big shoes to fill.”

Rob Manfred will have to address issues includong decreased interest in baseball among younger people and longer games.

He has been chief operating officer since September 2013; Manfred has been to Selig what Adam Silver was to former NBA commissioner David Stern. This is a role in which he reports directly to Selig and oversees functions such as labor relations, baseball operations, finance, administration and club governance.

“There is no doubt in my mind he has the temperament, the training, the experience,” Selig said.

Manfred has taken criticism in recent months, however, for some of the methods baseball employed in its controversial Biogenesis investigation.

Manfred fell only one vote shy of the 23 out of 30 owners needed in the first ballot earlier Thursday. On the second ballot, he won unanimously, several owners confirmed.

"“While Rob may not have been my initial choice for commissioner, the conclusion of a very good process was to name Rob as the person best positioned to help baseball endure and grow even stronger for the next generation of fans,” Chicago White Sox owner, Jerry Reinsdorf said in a statement."

It seems as though the owners and “baseball bigwigs” are all content with this election,

“I want to congratulate Rob Manfred. I am confident he will be an outstanding commissioner and I look forward to working with Rob to build upon Commissioner Selig’s outstanding legacy,” ESPN president John Skipper said in a statement.

Congratulations to the new MLB Commissioner, Rob Manfred!