Rob Manfred Confirms Plan to Retire

Rob Manfred said Thursday that he will retire from his role as commissioner of Major League Baseball at the end of his current term.

“I’m done at the end of this contract,” Manfred said on The Craig Carton Show. “I’ve told them that and I’m going to stick to it.”

Manfred’s term will end on July 29, 2029. He was re-elected by the teams in July of 2023. Manfred has been in office since 2014, when he assumed the role from Bud Selig.

Under Manfred’s watch, MLB has instituted a number of rule changes, including the ban of the infield shift, the three-batter minimum rule, the introduction of PitchCom to counteract sign stealing, and most notably, the addition of the pitch clock. Most recently, Manfred said MLB will have an automated ball-strike system, which will allow teams to challenge the calls of the home plate umpire during games.

Manfred has had an up-and-down tenure as commissioner, including a cheating scandal and a lockout, but he’s had plenty to get excited about in recent years. MLB has seen an increase in attendance every year since the pitch clock was added to games. The league has eclipsed 70 million fans in each of the last three seasons, and the average time of a nine-inning game has decreased from over three hours to under two hours and 40 minutes.

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