Rob Manfred and MLB Completely Botched His Press Conference Discussing Astros Sign Stealing
By Michael Luciano
Rob Manfred was set to make a public statement on the Houston Astros and the fallout as a result of their sign-stealing escapades. Fairly important news, right? Well, Manfred is treating this as something he is doing begrudgingly rather than out of a need to maintain the integrity of the sport.
He isn't even mandating that the interview from Braves Spring Training be shown on MLB Network, as the league's own TV network is currently airing "Bull Durham".
The Commisioner of Baseball is going to speak about possibly the biggest scandal in our sport’s history, and MLB Network is playing Bull Durham for the 1000th time. Haha cmon guys! ?♂️
— Trevor Plouffe (@trevorplouffe) February 16, 2020
Look, I like Bull Durham as much as the next guy, but maybe a press conference in which the commissioner of the sport is discussing one of the biggest scandals in league history is more important than watching Kevin Costner try to make it as a baseball player for the 67th time?
Manfred's conference was televised on YouTube, which goes to show just how much he cares about the Astros scandal now that the punishment has officially been levied. Other than admitting that he promised the players immunity in exchange for their testimony, the conference was full of the same commissioner platitudes that make up Manfred's entire vocabulary.
Manfred continues to be viewed as a pushover commissioner who doesn't do enough where it counts. Trying to get this conference over and done with a minimal presence from the media is a perfect example of that.