Rob Manfred sees engaging urban youth in baseball as a priority as new MLB commissioner

Just beyond a black fence that edged the glimmering Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy, a group of kids outside of John Philip Sousa Junior High School demonstrated one of the biggest challenges for new Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred.

While Manfred stood inside the spit-shined one-year-old facility with some of the kids it serves, youngsters on the other side of the street played pickup football. The sun was out, and what has been growling early February weather had given way to a 50-degree day. The kids threw the football and pretended to tackle each other. There were no gloves in sight.

Manfred took over for Bud Selig as MLB commissioner Jan. 25. He has numerous topics to handle in his new role as commissioner. Among them is figuring out a way to engage inner-city youth, particularly blacks, in baseball. The number of blacks at the highest level of the game continues to dwindle.

In 2013, according to MLB, 8.5 percent of players on Opening Day rosters were black. Last season, that moved down to 8.3 percent. Despite programs like Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities, or R.B.I., baseball is a distant third to most black kids as their sport of choice, trailing football and basketball. As was explained to him by one of the on-field coaches at the youth academy who grew up nearby, the nine-acre campus in Ward 7’s Fort Dupont Park at least provides a chance for change.

“The visit here is really important to me,” Manfred said. “One of the things I hope to accomplish during my time as commissioner is to increase the number of kids who play our game and are interested in our game. And, I’ll tell you a program like this is an example of Major League Baseball and one of its clubs at its best.

“It promotes the goals of participation and diversity that are so important to our game.”

The commissioner had seen pictures of the development before. Wednesday afternoon, he was provided a live tour of classrooms, the kitchen and indoor batting cages. He met some of the kids and posed for pictures.

This stop was part of Manfred making the rounds since taking over for Selig, who left the commissioner’s office after 22 years in the position. Selig began as acting commissioner in 1992 before being named the official commissioner in 1998. He left office Jan. 24. Manfred, a lawyer by trade, was elected commissioner Aug. 14, 2014, after extensive service in Major League Baseball dating all the way back to 1987, when he was involved in collective bargaining.

He said since ascending to the commissioner’s role, not much has surprised him. Though, he’s dealing with one mild discomfort.

“I can’t get used to people calling me ’commissioner Manfred,’” he said with a laugh. “I’ve been ’Rob’ for a really long time and it’s been a bit of an adjustment.”

Manfred caused a stir last week when he suggested consideration of banning defensive shifts in an interview with ESPN as a way to bring more offense or excitement to the game. He quickly backtracked from that thought after negative reaction.

But, he does have an attention-span problem to deal with. The money in baseball continues to pile up, as does dissatisfaction with the pace of games. In the same interview, Manfred put out the idea of a pitch clock. Based on the new commissioner’s early comments, he appears prepared to tinker with the game in order to speed it up.

Wednesday, he also conceded that late start times for playoff games are a concern. Most of the kids he met with at the academy would not be up late enough to see the conclusion of a World Series game if the current schedule continued. Each World Series game this past fall started at 8:07 p.m.

“Late start times are an issue with young people,” Manfred said. “We try to pay attention to that. And it has to be balanced against the needs of our broadcast partners that are part of the engine that make the game run. It is an issue. It’s something that we think about all the time. Best I can tell you on that one, is more to come as we move ahead.”

Manfred lived in Washington when it was without baseball. He said that forced the upstate New York native to become a Baltimore Orioles season-ticket holder in order to get his “baseball fix.” He hopes that places like the Nationals’ academy make baseball a reality for youngsters in the District, which now has the prowess of a major league team to lean on.

“The single most important thing for growing the game is getting kids playing when they are kids,” Manfred said. “There are parts of our cities in particular where there are not great opportunities. I think what the Nationals have done here is stepped in and filled that void. … It will pay off in terms of generations of fans.”