Manfred Defends MLB Prop-Bet Rules As Congress Turns Up Heat

NEW YORK — Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said the league will cooperate with a new congressional inquiry relating to gambling and integrity in baseball, but said no additional league rules in this area are planned. 

Speaking with reporters during league meetings here this week, Manfred said the league will soon respond to recent requests from the Senate Commerce Committee for information and documentation surrounding Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz, indicted last week by the U.S. Department of Justice. The dialogue between MLB and the legislators, however, will not necessarily advance beyond that.  

“We are going to respond fully and cooperatively and on time to the Senate inquiry,” he said in response to a Front Office Sports question. “Obviously the issue has received a lot of attention, and we understand why we got the inquiry. We think the steps we’ve taken in terms of limiting the size of these prop bets and prohibiting parlays off of them is a really, really significant change that should reduce the incentive for anyone to be involved in an inappropriate way.”

The comments arrive quickly on the heels of not only the indictments, but also a subsequent $200 cap on pitch-level prop bets in MLB—something that is the heart of the charges. Clase and Ortiz pleaded not guilty last week.

The committee, led by Sens. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) and Maria Cantwell (D., Wash.), is seeking written responses from MLB to its questions by Dec. 5.

With the prop-bet cap and parlay ban now in place, Manfred said there are no additional gambling-related rules under discussion.

“We think the changes that we made strike the right balance,” he said. 

Manfred, however, said MLB will be “looking at” issues related to prediction markets, which operate under a much looser regulatory framework.

Media Windfall

Manfred, meanwhile, lauded the long-awaited completion of more than $2 billion in new national media-rights deals, something that both provides additional revenue to the sport while also expanding access to MLB on both linear television and streaming.

In particular, the commissioner pointed to the ability of MLB and ESPN to reform a relationship that had gone on for 35 years, but descended into acrimony early this year with seemingly no hope of repair.

“This is an evolution of a relationship,” Manfred said of ESPN. “Long relationships go through these things, and this is an evolution that I think is significant, and lines up with ESPN’s focus on streaming going forward.”

More League Matters

In other league business discussed at the owners’ meeting:

• The historic viewership totals for the recent World Series between the Blue Jays and Dodgers—not only in the U.S. but also Japan and Canada—were a topic of extensive conversation. Manfred in particular marveled about the fans’ desire to stick out Game 3, which stretched for 18 innings. “At 2:45 a.m. ET, we had 8 million people still watching the 18-inning game. Kind of an amazing number when you think about it.”
• There is no codified plan yet from management regarding next year’s labor negotiations with the MLB Players Association. Manfred, however, said he intends to continue his streak of no games lost to a work stoppage since he became a full-time league employee in 1998. Additionally, he said he is very sensitive to a widespread concern among fans about competitive balance. “We have a significant segment of our fans that have been vocal about the issue of competitive balance,” he said. “In general, we try to pay attention to our fans.”
• A process by the Pohlad family who owns the Twins to bring in two minority ownership groups remains on track.
• MLB extended its contract with PitchCom, which enables signaling between pitchers and catchers, through 2031.
• Manfred predicted plenty of interest from prospective buyers in a Padres franchise recently put up for sale.

“It’s a really appealing franchise. They’ve done a great job building a fan base and an in-ballpark experience that is probably one of our best,” Manfred said. “I expect there will be people interested in buying.”