'Ridiculous!' Does Commissioner Rob Manfred 'Hate Baseball'?

“It is the most ridiculous thing, among some fairly ridiculous things that get said about me.'' - Manfred

This has in some ways been a tumultuous time for Major League Baseball, keyed of course by the lockout that slowed the season.

As a result, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has been asked to provide answers - and even, to field accusations.

Like the one asserting that he "hates baseball.''

“It is the most ridiculous thing, among some fairly ridiculous things that get said about me,” Manfred told ESPN. “The assertion that I hate the game - that one does rub me the wrong way, I have to tell you the truth.”

Commissioners across all NFL leagues often fall short of popularity-contest winning; after all, fans root for players and managers and teams, and maybe sometimes, owners.

Nobody roots for the commissioner.

Manfred, 63, has overseen some changes in the game - changes that some traditionalists view as too drastic. The purpose of the alternations, of course, are to make the game more entertaining and palatable to a next generation of fans who might find "tradition'' to be "boring.''

But "speeding up the game'' has also slowed many fans' potential admiration for Manfred.

“Yeah, here’s the problem,” Manfred said. “When you acknowledge there’s something wrong with the game, that turns you into a hater of baseball.”

At one point earlier this year, Manfred was at the podium, preparing to speak to the media about the unfortunate move to come: the lockout would mean that the first two series of the season would be canceled. Early in the proceedings, a pleasant smile crossed his face. It was misinterpreted ... and now we have this view of "hating baseball.''

“I’m getting killed out there,” he said of the outrage that resulted from a simple, innocent smile from a person who, if he "hates baseball,'' sure picked a weird job.

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