TAMPA, Fla. —
Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said Thursday he will retire when his current term ends in January 2029.
Speaking at a spring training news conference, Manfred noted he will be 70 years old and will have been commissioner for 14 years when his term ends on Jan. 25, 2029.
“You can only have so much fun in one lifetime,” Manfred said.
Manfred, 65, succeeded Bud Selig in January 2015 and was given a five-year term as baseball’s 10th commissioner. S
Owners voted in November 2018 to offer Manfred a new deal through the 2024 season, then voted last July to approve his latest term.
“I have been open with them about the fact that this is going to be my last term,” Manfred said. “I said it to them before the election in July and I’m absolutely committed to that.”
Manfred beat out Boston Red Sox Chairman Tom Werner in the first contested vote for a new commissioner in 46 years. The third candidate, MLB Executive Vice President of Business Tim Brosnan, withdrew just before the start of balloting.
Candidates to succeed Manfred have not publicly emerged. Dan Halem, who joined MLB in 2007 as general counsel for labor, has been deputy commissioner since 2017. He will be 58 in May.
“I’m sure the selection process is going to look like it looked the last time,” Manfred said. “There’ll be a committee of owners that’ll be put together and they’ll identify candidates, an interview process and ultimately someone or a slate of people will be put forward.”
Among the major unresolved issues of Manfred’s tenure are new ballparks for the Oakland Athletics and Tampa Bay Rays. Oakland received approval from MLB in November to move to Las Vegas, where the A’s hope to build a new ballpark that will open in 2028.
“I am confident that the deal in Las Vegas is solid and that the A’s will build a stadium in Las Vegas and play there in 2028,” Manfred said. “We believe the parcel is adequate for a major league ballpark. I think the delay in the renderings is due to the discussions between Bally’s and the A’s as to how the ballpark and what else is going to happen there is going to be most efficiently designed to make it the best possible experience for fans.”
The team’s lease at the Oakland Coliseum extends through the 2024 season. It’s unclear whether the A’s will play 2025 home games in Oakland, Sacramento, San Francisco or a minor league stadium in Las Vegas. The A’s met with the City of Oakland on Thursday about extending the club’s lease beyond this season.
Tampa Bay hopes to construct a new ballpark adjacent to the current Tropicana Field, also aimed to open in 2028.
“I’m hope that I’m here to go to opening day as commissioner for both Tampa Bay and Las Vegas,” Manfred said.
He does not expect expansion to 32 teams will be completed by 2028.
“I don’t think realistically those clubs would be playing before I’m finished,” Manfred said. “I would like to have the process in place and operating before I go.”
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