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Rob Manfred is Terrible for Baseball and Needs to Go

By Scott Rogust

If Rob Manfred can't constitute a 2020 baseball season, he should resign as MLB commissioner immediately.
If Rob Manfred can't constitute a 2020 baseball season, he should resign as MLB commissioner immediately. / Win McNamee/Getty Images

The reputation of Major League Baseball has been on a rapid decline, thanks in part to the ongoing strife between the league and the player's union in regards to a return-to-play plan. Just prior to the 2020 MLB Draft, commissioner Rob Manfred said that he's 100% confident that baseball will be played this year.

Now, Manfred is backing off his confident claim on Monday. During his appearance on ESPN's "The Return of Sports" special, the increasingly unpopular commish said he's "not confident" there will be a 2020 campaign.

If this is indeed the case, then Manfred should resign from his position immediately.

We didn't think it was possible for Manfred to stoop this low, especially after his terrible punishment issued to the Houston Astros for illegally stealing-signs. Yet, here we are.

Back on March 26, when the coronavirus pandemic hit the United States, the league and the MLBPA reached an agreement to play as many games as possible in 2020. That gave fans such faith during these dark and troubling times. However, Manfred reneged on his promise with the players union, and entered "negotiations," a term we'll use very loosely.

Players were adamant on playing between 89-114 games on prorated salaries. Manfred and the owners, on the other hand, began crying poor, citing that the league would be losing hundreds of thousands of dollars per game with no fans in attendance. He made matters worse by sending multiple variations of the same offer to the players! Once the players said they won't negotiate further this past Saturday, Manfred had the gall to say that they weren't "negotiating in good faith."

Look in the mirror, Rob. You and the cheap owners are the ones who were negotiating in bad faith. You have the power to mandate a 2020 season. While 48-59 games isn't ideal, you can still provide fans with some entertainment. Instead, you're threatening to cancel the upcoming campaign altogether just so the owners can protect their beloved bank accounts? That's deplorable and insulting.

Do yourself a favor, Rob. Resign immediately, because your presence alone is killing the game of baseball.