MLB owners unanimously approved a five-year contract extension for commissioner Rob Manfred. The new deal is set to take him through the 2024 regular season.
Manfred was elected commissioner in August 2014, succeeding Bud Selig in January 2015. Manfred has been with the league on a full-time basis, though under different roles, since 1998.
Under his direction as commissioner, MLB and the MLB Players Association avoided a work stoppage by agreeing to a five-year Collective Bargaining Agreement, expanded youth participation and growth in the sport and improved pace of play, among other accomplishments and initiatives.
The Los Angeles Dodgers were involved with the sport going global as they played a three-game series with the San Diego Padres in Monterrey, Mexico, this past season. One of the games wound up being a combined no-hitter for the Dodgers.
In 2015, MLB organized a goodwill tour to Cuba, which Clayton Kershaw and Yasiel Puig participated in. It was the league’s first visit to Cuba since the Baltimore Orioles faced the Cuban National Team in exhibition game in March 1999.
MLB staged another game in Cuba in 2016, when the Tampa Bay Rays faced the Cuban National Team in an exhibition game. The historic matchup was attended by President Barack Obama and Cuban president Raul Castro.
Coinciding with news of Manfred’s new deal was a record television rights agreement between MLB and FOX for postseason games, the World Series and All-Star Games. The agreement further adds to the record revenues MLB has seen with Manfred at the helm.
