Baseball Commissioner Talks Game Length During Milwaukee Visit

Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred was at Miller Park in Milwaukee on Tuesday for the Brewer’s 3-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Manfred’s visit was part of his annual attempt to go to all the Major League stadiums. During the visit, he addressed baseball’s ongoing effort to speed up the games. That could include adjusting the commercial break between innings.

“I think the commercial load is something we need to continue to look at and be creative about,” Manfred said. “But I think you need changes to encourage the players to move the game along.”

He said pitchers who don’t take too much time delaying on the mound help the sport. Ultimately, Manfred said, a faster game will help get more kids to watch.

Manfred also addressed a concern that baseball right now is too focused on home runs and strikeouts, and not enough on strategy and putting the ball in play.

“That’s a matter of whether you like steak or fish, right? We’re in a period where we have bigger, stronger, faster athletes, like all sports,” he said. “I don’t think it’s surprising that given that development that there’s an emphasis on power pitching that produces strikeouts, and there’s an emphasis on power hitting, which gives you a lot of home runs.”

Baseball ebbs and flows, he said, and some teams will figure out a way to win with a different approach, causing the game to adjust.

Manfred also praised former Commissioner Bud Selig, who was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday. Selig also formerly owned the Brewers.