Commissioner Rob Manfred talks about difficulty of improving slide rule
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"I hate to admit this," the commissioner said before Tuesday's St. Louis Cardinals-Chicago Cubs game, "but I think the way we had to work through the home-plate situation gives you a feel for how difficult it is to write that kind of rule that involves in-game action and an important part of the game."
Chase Utley's controversial slide broke New York Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada's leg this week. However, when Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Jung Ho Kang was injured on a similar slide in September, he said, it was the type of incident that "brings it into focus how damaging it can be to a club and, obviously, to the player."
"The issue of player safety is paramount for us," Manfred said. "We have some great young athletes, and we don't want to lose any of them, regardless of position, to injuries that can be avoided. And we are going to constantly look at the game to find ways to prevent avoidable injuries.''
Manfred said that MLB preferred to hold a hearing regarding Utley's appeal of his two-game suspension on Tuesday or Wednesday, instead of next Monday. Although he understands why that hearing was delayed, he said he would like to find a way to expedite future appeals hearings if suspensions occur during the playoffs.
"We haven't had a suspension in the postseason in a very long time," he said. "I think what this current situation has brought to light is that we may have a little bit of a difficult scheduling issue that a little shorter frame time would help us. And I'm sure that will be a topic that we'll talk to the [players' union] about."
The commissioner also said he expects owners to have a lengthy discussion about ways to address fan-safety concerns at the regularly scheduled owners meetings next month.
"We are engaged in really detailed examination of the 30 different ballparks and how they are laid out," Manfred said. "Where balls are going into the stands, where bats are going into the stands, what we would have to do from a netting perspective in order for it to be effective. We're looking at the different materials that are available for netting. I know this sounds crazy, but there have been real advances in netting and how you see through it. The biggest challenge for us is that our ballparks are really different."
When he was asked how extended netting would affect plays such as an oft-replayed highlight-reel moment from earlier this season in which Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzowent into the stands to catch a foul popup, Manfred said: "The netting issue is not a one-sided issue."
"There's a big issue on one side, which is fan safety. It's paramount for us," he said. "On the other side of it is, you're changing the ballpark experience. And it's not that you want to pick one over the other, but you want to find a way to balance the two that's appropriate."
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Jayson Stark, Senior Writer, ESPN.com
"I hate to admit this," the commissioner said before Tuesday's St. Louis Cardinals-Chicago Cubs game, "but I think the way we had to work through the home-plate situation gives you a feel for how difficult it is to write that kind of rule that involves in-game action and an important part of the game."
Chase Utley's controversial slide broke New York Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada's leg this week. However, when Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Jung Ho Kang was injured on a similar slide in September, he said, it was the type of incident that "brings it into focus how damaging it can be to a club and, obviously, to the player."
"The issue of player safety is paramount for us," Manfred said. "We have some great young athletes, and we don't want to lose any of them, regardless of position, to injuries that can be avoided. And we are going to constantly look at the game to find ways to prevent avoidable injuries.''
Manfred said that MLB preferred to hold a hearing regarding Utley's appeal of his two-game suspension on Tuesday or Wednesday, instead of next Monday. Although he understands why that hearing was delayed, he said he would like to find a way to expedite future appeals hearings if suspensions occur during the playoffs.
"We haven't had a suspension in the postseason in a very long time," he said. "I think what this current situation has brought to light is that we may have a little bit of a difficult scheduling issue that a little shorter frame time would help us. And I'm sure that will be a topic that we'll talk to the [players' union] about."
The commissioner also said he expects owners to have a lengthy discussion about ways to address fan-safety concerns at the regularly scheduled owners meetings next month.
"We are engaged in really detailed examination of the 30 different ballparks and how they are laid out," Manfred said. "Where balls are going into the stands, where bats are going into the stands, what we would have to do from a netting perspective in order for it to be effective. We're looking at the different materials that are available for netting. I know this sounds crazy, but there have been real advances in netting and how you see through it. The biggest challenge for us is that our ballparks are really different."
When he was asked how extended netting would affect plays such as an oft-replayed highlight-reel moment from earlier this season in which Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzowent into the stands to catch a foul popup, Manfred said: "The netting issue is not a one-sided issue."
"There's a big issue on one side, which is fan safety. It's paramount for us," he said. "On the other side of it is, you're changing the ballpark experience. And it's not that you want to pick one over the other, but you want to find a way to balance the two that's appropriate."
