OC Register: Rob Manfred apologizes for ‘piece of metal’ remark, explains why players were granted ‘blanket immunity’

[AngelsWin.com]

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — It has not been a good few days for MLB commissioner Rob Manfred.

Possibly the best player in the history of one sport (Mike Trout) called the sign-stealing scandal surrounding the Houston Astros “sad” and said the punishment wasn’t enough.

Possibly the best player in the history of an entirely different sport (LeBron James) piled on, calling the commissioner out on Twitter on Tuesday to do something about the “disgusted, mad, hurt, broken” players in his sport – many of whom have called for him to vacate the 2017 championship.

But don’t expect Manfred to change anything about the punishment he doled out in the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal or announce that the 2017 World Series title has been vacated.

“You are 100 percent correct that I could have set a new precedent here,” Manfred said when questioned about that during his availability at Tuesday’s Cactus League Media Day. “I felt and continue to feel that the best thing we can do for our fans, is to give them the facts, put them in a position to make their own judgment as to what happened in 2017, what the significance of that particular World Series is.

“I also, and I’ve said this before, we’re very concerned about opening the door to altering results that took place on the field. There are a lot of things that have happened in the history of the game that arguably could be corrected. And I just think it’s an impossible task for an institution to undertake.”

Manfred did acknowledge “I made one mistake – at least” and that was his description of the World Series trophy as “a piece of metal” during an interview on ESPN. He apologized for that mistake, which Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner and Cubs pitcher Jon Lester, in particular, had both taken issue with.

“In an effort to make a rhetorical point, I referred to the World Series trophy in a disrespectful way,” he said. “I want to apologize for that. There’s no excuse for it. I made a mistake in trying to make a point but I should have made it in a more effective way and, again, I want to apologize for it.”

Under questioning Tuesday, Manfred did confirm that the MLB investigation found the Astros had used their trash can-banging system to steal signs and signal them to hitters during their 2017 World Series victory over the Dodgers despite their recent denials.

“Garbage-can signaling went on in the postseason,” Manfred asserted. “There was conflicting evidence on that point. But, you know, in an investigation you often have conflicting evidence and it was my view that the more credible evidence was that they continued to use the trash-can system.”

This only confirmed what the Dodgers suspected going into the 2017 World Series, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said.

“We had heard trash can. We had heard other ways – first name, last name, whistling,” Friedman said. “We’d heard a lot of different things. We weren’t exactly sure how they were doing it, but we had suspicions going into the 2017 World Series – a lot of scout chatter.

“We didn’t know it unequivocally or we would have been stronger with it (precautions). It was more speculation.”

If not a vacated title, a lot of players around both leagues have been upset that a scheme described in the commissioner’s report as “player-driven” did not result in any discipline of those players. Atlanta Braves outfielder Nick Markakis, speaking earlier Tuesday, said he believed the commissioner had completely mishandled the situation and that “every single guy over there deserves a beating.”

Manfred said he had “never seen the kind of commentary from players about other players” before – and then pointed out the irony of players criticizing other players for getting immunity that the players’ union demanded.

Related Articles

• Whicker: Rob Manfred makes a tough job look impossible
• Now a Dodger, Tyler White calls Astros scheme ‘wrong’ but minimizes his role
• Alexander: Shaming, apparently, will be Astros’ strongest punishment
• Dodgers’ Justin Turner lashes out at MLB commissioner over handling of Astros
• David Price could benefit from new environment with Dodgers

“Our early efforts were not particularly successful in terms of making progress with the investigation,” Manfred said. “My office then contacted the MLBPA to request player cooperation. We wanted players to submit to interviews. The MLBPA asked if we had a disciplinary intention. I think the response was, that we could not rule that out. The union indicated to us that that would be a problem.”

The union told MLB, Manfred said, that the players would only cooperate if they received “blanket immunity.” MLB agreed, for lack of a better alternative.

“I’m not being critical of anyone, but the fact of the matter is the union wanted an immunity agreement to protect their members,” said Manfred, who also pledged Tuesday to protect Oakland right-hander Mike Fiers, the former Astros pitcher who became the whistleblower when he went public in November to The Athletic. “And, you know, that’s how we got there.”

Discussions are now ongoing between MLB and the union, Manfred said, about restricting players’ access to video during the game.

“It just has caused a lot of problems, and I think a really across-the-board restriction on that video will help send the kind of message to our fans,” said Manfred who is expected to announce the findings from an investigation of the 2018 Boston Red Sox soon. “It’s really important for this institution right now that we’re serious about cleaning this up.”

View the full article