23 Facts About Rob Manfred

Rob Manfred was born on September 28,1958, in Rome, New York.

Rob Manfred attended Rome Free Academy and graduated in 1976.

Rob Manfred enrolled at Le Moyne College where he played tennis for the Dolphins for two seasons.

Rob Manfred earned his Bachelor of Science from Cornell's School of Industrial and Labor Relations in 1980 and his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1983, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review.

In 1987, Rob Manfred began working with Major League Baseball during collective bargaining.

Rob Manfred joined MLB on a full-time basis in 1998, serving as the Executive Vice President of Economics and League Affairs.

Rob Manfred negotiated MLB's first drug testing agreement with the Major League Baseball Players Association in 2002, and represented MLB in negotiations with the MLBPA when forming new collective bargaining agreements in 2002,2006 and 2011.

In 2013, Rob Manfred led MLB's investigation of the Biogenesis scandal.

Rob Manfred stated that his primary goals as commissioner were youth outreach, embracing technology, quickening the pace of play, strengthening player relations, and creating a more unified business operation.

Rob Manfred has advocated for expansion franchises, listing Portland, Las Vegas, Charlotte, Nashville, Montreal, and Vancouver as possible locations for new teams.

In February 2024, Rob Manfred said that he would step down when his contract expires in January 2029.

In 2020, Rob Manfred led an investigation that found that the Houston Astros had used illegal methods to steal signs during the 2017 season, in which they won the World Series, as well as part of the 2018 season.

Rob Manfred fined the team $5 million, the maximum allowed by the MLB constitution, and revoked their first- and second-round draft picks in 2020 and 2021.

Rob Manfred was widely criticized for his handling of the situation.

On May 26, Rob Manfred made the league's first proposal for the 2020 season, which included a reduction of the richest salaries by over 75 percent.

Rob Manfred formally announced the lockout in a press release titled "A letter to baseball fans," an action that received criticism from various baseball media members.

Rob Manfred received online criticism for smiling and laughing before and during the press conference.

Rob Manfred valued the World Baseball Classic from the beginning of his tenure, and the 2017 tourney drew 3.5 million viewers in the United States.

In 2023, Fisher, A's President Dave Kaval and Commissioner Rob Manfred have repeatedly been caught or accused of knowingly giving false public statements and outright lying about the proposed Oakland Ballpark project, which began in 2018 and stalled sometime following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

In May 2021, Rob Manfred's office announced that Major League Baseball had given the Athletics permission to explore relocation, citing slow progress on the proposed bayfront Oakland Ballpark.

In late October 2022, Rob Manfred announced that he would instruct the league to waive the standard assessed relocation fee for Athletics ownership should the team choose to relocate specifically to Las Vegas.

Rob Manfred reiterated this in late July 2023, exacerbating the ire of other MLB owners frustrated with the "preferential treatment" Fisher and Las Vegas were receiving from Rob Manfred.

Rob Manfred has an older sister and a younger brother.