Commissioner optimistic about new rules, balanced schedule

PHOENIX -- At the dawn of a particularly dynamic year of change in Major League Baseball, Commissioner Rob Manfred expressed optimism Wednesday about the improvements the league's new rules and new schedule will bring to the fan experience.

"This is the first time since 2019 that we're going into a season where the focus is on the field and the play of the game," Manfred said at a Spring Training media availability at the Arizona Biltmore, "which is always where we do our best."

The game will look a bit different this year, with the implementation of the pitch timer, defensive shift restrictions, bigger bases and a new, more balanced schedule that will reduce the number of games teams play within their division and, for the first time, ensure each team plays all 29 other teams.

"We think the changes are going to produce a crisp, more exciting game," Manfred said. "More balls in play, and I think the athleticism of our great athletes will shine through. It's not about changing the game; it's about making sure we put the best form of baseball on the field."

The rules changes will be enforced from Day 1 of the exhibition season and from Opening Day of the regular season. There will be no grace period, though Manfred acknowledged the new rules will take some getting used to for players and coaches.

"We reached the conclusion that if you have a grace period, you effectively have two periods of adjustment," Manfred said. "Our experience [experimenting with the rules] in the Minor Leagues suggested we're just better off putting in the rule changes and moving through that adjustment period as fast as we can."

The rule changes came about after extensive surveys MLB conducted regarding what fans want the game to look like. And the schedule changes, which will allow fans in all markets to see the game's best players in action, emerged after conversations with owners about how best to draw fans to the ballparks.

"With 19 games against your division opponents, what you started to hear from the clubs is, 'It would help us, in terms of attendance and trying to appeal to our fans, to have a little more variety in the schedule,'" Manfred said. "When you do more games outside your division, almost by definition travel is going to be a little worse. The conclusion is it was worthwhile in terms of trying to make the game better for fans."

Here are other topics covered during Manfred's availability with reporters.

• Stars in the Classic: Manfred was pleased to see so many of the game's biggest stars commit to representing their countries in the upcoming World Baseball Classic.

"A lot of players place tremendous value to play with their country's name on their chest," Manfred said. "I think the change this year is we have seen less resistance from clubs in terms of making players available and actually meaning it. That's a credit to the professionalism of the countries and professionals that you can work with the WBC staff in a way that allows the player to get ready, consistent with the desires of the individual clubs."

• Automatic runner: MLB has made the automatic runner at second base in extra innings a permanent fixture. Manfred said the idea of moving the initiation of the automatic runner to a later inning than the 10th was not given serious consideration because the rule as currently implemented is widely popular among teams and players.

"The clubs have come to the point where they prefer the rule," Manfred said. "It saves them from putting excessive strain on their pitching staffs or putting position players out there to pitch when they're not used to pitching. It eliminates that really long game. There is a lot of consensus. I think for fans it does bring focus at the end of the game. I think that's a good thing over the long haul."

• "Robot" umps: Will an automatic ball strike system (ABS) -- or, alternatively, the ABS challenge system -- be next to come to the big leagues? Manfred was noncommittal.

"We are really in the evaluation phase still, with respect to ABS," Manfred said. "We're going to use it more broadly in the Minor Leagues this year. There are issues that are still the topic of really considerable discussion within the ownership group and even more that are going to have to be resolved in the Joint Committee process with the players."

Catchers, by and large, have expressed a concern that a full ABS system would eliminate the value of pitch framing -- a skill they have honed.

"It's a legitimate concern among a subset of players, which is reflected in the union's position, obviously," Manfred said. "The challenge [system] reduces dramatically the framing issue for catchers. … But I think it's a mistake to automatically assume ABS is coming on any particular timeframe. … We have a lot of change coming this year, and we have to see how that all takes."

• Regional broadcasts: Diamond Sports Group, which owns 19 Bally Sports regional sports networks (RSNs), reportedly missed a $140 million interest payment this week and is expected to file for bankruptcy. Manfred was asked about potential disruption to the viewing schedule for MLB's 14 affected clubs.

"Because I'm a contingency planner by nature, we are prepared, no matter what happens with respect to Diamond, to make sure the games are available to fans in their local markets," Manfred said. "We think it will be both linear in traditional cable bundle and digital on our own platforms, but that remains to be seen. We hope Diamond figures out a way to pay the clubs and broadcast the game like they're contractually obligated to do."

Manfred said greater accessibility to game broadcasts is a goal for MLB.

"If you had to say, 'Give me one word that's central baseball's No. 1 priority,' that word would be 'reach,' " Manfred said. "Blackouts are the opposite side of the coin of reach. We need to deliver product to fans who want to watch on platforms that they customarily use and a realistic price. That is our No. 1 priority."