For the most part, baseball is in a pretty good spot. There was a period of time where it seemed like many fans simply stopped caring about the sport, but MLB has rebounded in a rather strong way as of late.
That’s thanks to a lot of factors, but perhaps the most important of those have been the rules changes that MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has helped implement. Despite being kind of a punching bag among baseball fans, rules changes like the pitch clock have played a big role in helping baseball retain popularity.
Alex Rodriguez is a big Rob Manfred fan due to the resurgence of MLB
Not many want to admit that, but former MVP Alex Rodriguez isn’t afraid to say it. “A-Rod” recently appeared on the “Traina Thoughts” podcast and had great things to say about Manfred. The comments came as a result of a discussion into ongoing CBA negotiations between MLB and the MLPBA.
I’m hopeful that there’s not (games missed). But I’ve spoken to dozens of people from both sides, and they’re both dug in like I’ve never seen before in 35 years of being around the game of baseball at the Major Leagues.
I hope cooler heads prevail. The game is doing so well from viewership to people going to the stadiums, all the great work Rob Manfred has done with the clock, with the bases, with the shift. The product is really good right now. A World Series that saw 53 million people watch.
Rodriguez believes the league losing out on games next season due to an inability to come to agreement on a new CBA would be truly detrimental to the league. He reiterated that, “No matter how good the deal is for either side, if there is a work stoppage, it’s not going to be better than if they get a deal with no stoppage.”
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