AJ Pérez
Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred was optimistic about two potential additions to the sport: Las Vegas as a destination for a franchise and former New York Yankees great Derek Jeter as an owner.
Computers calling balls and strikes? Manfred told those who attended Associated Press sports editors’ meetings at MLB headquarters in New York on Thursday that automated umpires are years away.
While baseball was rocked by the Pete Rose gambling scandal that saw the king of gambling get banned from the sport nearly three decades ago, Manfred didn’t seem too concerned about Nevada offering gambling games. legalized sports chance.
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“I think now that we’ve seen two professional sports go there, the issue of the game’s presence is more than people have gotten over,” Manfred said Thursday. “You can play anywhere (illegally). It’s not just Las Vegas. So from that perspective, I’m open to it. We’ll see what happens.
The Vegas Golden Knights begin play this year as the NHL becomes the first major sport to be based in the gaming mecca and the Oakland Raiders could begin play in Las Vegas as early as 2019.
“Given the way things are going, we have the advantage of seeing what happens in terms of the market and what other issues will be raised,” Manfred said when asked if the Las Vegas offerings could pose problems for franchises based there.
Manfred said it was more likely that a team would move to Las Vegas rather than as a franchise expansion site. The Tampa Bay Rays and Oakland Athletics are the only major league teams actively seeking replacement sites for their old stadiums.
“Until Tampa and Oakland are resolved, I don’t see our expansion as a practical matter. It could be an expansion or relocation site,” Manfred said. “I understand the demographics and it could work, depending on the size of the city.”
In 2016, the Rays received permission from the St. Petersburg City Council to explore stadium options in the Tampa area but outside of St. Petersburg, site of Tropicana Field.
The Rays’ lease expires in 2027 and the franchise faces several hurdles in determining a viable stadium site acceptable to fans in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties.
A’s situation might become clearer sooner.
Las Vegas did Oakland a favor by luring the Raiders to a new $2 billion stadium in the desert. With the Warriors moving to San Francisco by 2020, the A’s remain the clear target of choice for the city. Still, venue and financing issues will also complicate the process, although the A’s won’t face as many location logistics as the Rays.
This was reported earlier this week that Jeter and former Florida governor and Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush are a group interested in purchasing the Miami Marlins.
“I spoke to Derek privately about his desire to become a landlord,” Manfred said. “I think the idea of a former player being an owner is attractive to baseball, especially to a player like Derek. This would bring diversity to our ownership group. That would be a good thing.
Quogue Capital founder Wayne P. Rothbaum is also among the current candidates, and it is conceivable that his assets exceed those of the Bush-Jeter group.
“What I would say is some really good, high-quality groups interested in the Marlins,” Manfred said. “Certainly, the Bush-Jeter group would be among that group of attractive bidders.”
Officiating problems in this high-definition era were on display once again Tuesday night, when a game between the Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves was unnecessarily extended due to a poor call by the umpire. from CB Bucknor home plate. He ruled that a game-ending third shot was actually a bad tip; replays indicated that the batter missed the ball by several problems. Fortunately, the Nationals held on after both teams were called back onto the field of play.
“The claim that we are there from a technological standpoint is incorrect at this point,” Manfred said. “It’s hard to argue against technology getting to a certain level, given what we’ve seen over the last two decades. Sooner or later we will have technology that is accurate and fast enough to trigger a computerized strike zone.
“At that point we will have to answer a truly fundamental question: whether we want to change the game by removing the human element associated with a home plate umpire discussing balls and strikes. I don’t think this is a frivolous decision. This is something we’re going to have to think about seriously.
Contributor: Peter Barzilai in New York
