Leave it to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred to say something idiotic about the modern game.
Manfred had been riding high. His rule changes have generally been positive, especially the addition of the pitch clock. The games are faster, there is more action, and fans are mostly pleased with the results. It is almost enough to forget the speculation as to whether or not the game’s steward even liked baseball.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred cannot stop himself
And then Manfred opened his mouth again. As Evan Drellich from The Athletic reported, a current major league owner said to Manfred that analytics are “an arms race to nowhere.” This is something that the commissioner agrees with, saying “[o]nce everybody’s doing it, that little margin that maybe you’re getting… it sure as heck is not worth the damage that was done to the game.” Because God forbid teams try to win the damn game and reach the postseason, right?
It does not take a rocket scientist to imagine that Dick Monfort was the owner complaining about analytics. His front office is still stuck in the 1940s and built on nepotism and incompetence. This is the team that appears to have forgotten that the trade deadline exists after all, refusing to deal anyone despite being woefully out of contention. If Monfort disagrees with something, that’s a good sign that it is worth pursuing. But Manfred listened to Monfort during the lockout and continues to give him an ear. The lockout was a disaster; why would anything Monfort recommend be different?
And yet, there goes Manfred. He is going to complain about teams trying to win and looking for any possible way to get an advantage. Who cares about wins and losses when the planet is going to turn into a cinder and everyone that ever lived will be forgotten anyway? The pursuit of a championship must truly lead to a lonely existence.
Rob Manfred is now echoing a talking point that analytics are ruining the game. He just cannot stop himself from yelling at the clouds.
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