COMMUNICATIONS PROFESSIONAL
JEREMY BEALE
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred thinks both D.C. and Baltimore can host All-Star Games
With Rob Manfred, the newly appointed Major League Baseball commissioner, in town this week, the question everyone wanted answered was what the future holds for competing markets Washington and Baltimore to ever host an All-Star Game.
In his first official public appearance as commissioner during a Wednesday visit at the Nationals Youth Baseball Academy, the 10th MLB commissioner responded in a way that may make both markets happy: He would have no issue awarding both cities All-Star Games back to back, as he perceives them as two distinct districts, according to comments he made to Comcast SportsNet.
Rob Manfred, Major League Baseball's 10th commissioner, visited the Nationals Youth Baseball Academy in Southeast D.C. as one of its first public official appearances in the post.
The issue has become prevalent since former Commissioner Bud Selig announced in his final act that he did not wish to place the All-Star Game in such close markets, ruling that it will be played in San Diego in 2016. The game this year will be played in Cincinnati, and with that decision, the National League gained consecutive hosting duties.
As for Manfred, the first game he ever attended may have been a New York Yankees game, but he has a vested interest in this region. He resided in the District for a number of years in the 1980s, working in the field of law.
"I think it's a credit to Commissioner Selig and to the Lerner family that they had the foresight to bring the national pastime back to D.C.," said Manfred, who was elected to commissioner in August and assumed the post late last month. "The Lerners have built this into a very successful franchise, and it's really important for the success of MLB."
According to Manfred, there may be Midsummer Classics event in the District's future.
"I think at the time the Nationals came here, we were pretty comfortable that the area had grown and developed so much since the Senators left, that we felt that we could be successful," he said. "And it turns out we were right about it."
Manfred was in town touring the Nationals Youth Baseball Academy — a fairly new $17 million Southeast D.C. facility built to provide outreach to youth and assist at-risk communities in the nation's capital. It hosts roughly 100 children a day and, in all, has worked with approximately 12,000 students from kindergarten to high school graduation since its opening this past March.
"To have the commissioner come here to give us his vote of confidence means a lot," saidTal Alter, executive director of NYBA. "We are rooted in baseball here."
The nonprofit, on 3675 Ely Place SE, houses eight classrooms, a teaching kitchen for cooking and nutrition lessons, three playing fields, a clubhouse and a 4,800-square-foot training space complete with batting cages.
"I was aware of the academy and had seen some presentations about it," said Manfred, who walked the halls of the academy and met with several of the children. "But seeing it firsthand, I was just absolutely astounded at the quality of the facility. Both the playing fields and the teaching facilities are absolutely first-class."
During the visit, Manfred gave back in some of the few ways he could, signing baseballs, taking pictures and answering a few questions.
"I have worked in the game for a long time and it was my predecessor who did such great things for the game," he said in an interview with one of the children there. "That really inspired me to try and continue his legacy, to try and continue baseball and in places like this, where there has not been baseball for a really long time."